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History Notes 



FOR 



Eighth Grade 




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HISTORY NOTES 



FOR 



EIGHTH GRADE 



BY 



EGBERT J. McLaughlin, a. m. 

John Welsh School, Philadelphia. 



M 151 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 

Twu Copies Recetved 

JUN 13 1904 

Copyright Entry 

CLASS ^ XXo, No. 

COPY B 



Copyright, 1904, by Robert J. McLaughlin. 






History Notes for Eighth Grade. 



Causes of the Revolution. 

The chief causes of the Revolution were the Navi- 
gation Acts, the Stamp Act, the unjust taxation with- 
out representation, the Boston Massacre and the 
Declaration of Independence. . 

1. Navigation Actsw. > " 

England wanted to make money out of her colonies. 
Tarious Navigation Acts were passed by Parliament. 
The Navigation Acts of 1663 forbade the colonies to 
import or export goods in anything but British or 
colonial vessels, to send goods to any other country 
than England, or to import goods from any other 
country than England. To prevent smuggling, Writs 
of Assistance were passed, allowing the customs offi- 
cers to enter any person 's house to search for smuggled 
goods. This angered the colonists greatly. The Navi- 
gation Acts ruined New England commerce and 
aroused their hatred of England. 

2. French and Indian War Taxes. 

England had spent enormous sums to expel the 
French from America, and they expected the colonists 
to aid in paying the expenses of the French and In- 
dian War. The colonists objected to any such taxa- 
tion, as they had already given troops and money 
freely in that war. 

3. Taxation without Representation. 

The English government would not allow the col- 
onies to send representatives to the English Parlia- 



ment to aid in making laws, and the colonists claimed 
that ''taxation without representation was tyranny," 
meaning it was unjust to compel them to pay taxes if 
they had no share in making the laws. 

4. The Stamp Act. 

The Stamp Act, passed by Parliament in 1765, 
levied a tax on all law and business papers used in the 
colonies. No document or certificate was legal without 
a stamp. Every newspaper required one. The value 
of the stamp varied from three pence to ten pounds 
sterling. Patrick Henry, in the Virginia House of 
Burgesses, in an eloquent speech denied the right of 
England to tax the colonies. Immense opposition to 
the tax arose all over the colonies, and in many places, 
when the stamps came, the people destroyed them. 

The enraged Americans then formed Non-importa- 
tion Agreements, promising not to import any goods 
from England. This loss of trade injured English 
manufacturers so much that Parliament was forced to 
repeal the Stamp Act in March, 1766. It was chiefly 
through the efforts of William Pitt that the Stamp 
Act was repealed. 

5. New Taxes. 

In 1767, Parliament passed a bill, taxing tea, paint, 
paper, glass and lead imported into the American col- 
onies. A large number of merchants renewed their 
Non-importation Agreements, and refused to import 
British goods. 

6. Boston Massacre. 

King George III. now sent General Gage with two 
British regiments to Boston. Many quarrels arose be- 
tween the soldiers and the people. In 1770, a fight oc- 



curred between ten soldiers, and a mob of about seven 
hundred, led by Crispus Attucks, an Indian or a 
mulatto. 

The soldiers fired in self-defence, wounding eight 
and killing three, one of those killed being Attucks. 

The soldiers were tried for murder, and were de- 
fended by John Adams and Josiah Quincy. All were 
set free, though two were branded on the hand for 
manslaughter. 

The effect of the Boston Massacre was to rouse the 
colonists to fight British oppression. 

7. Boston Tea»party. 

In 1773, Parliament removed all taxes except the 
taxes on tea. This tax on tea, of three pence a pound, 
was retained by the English government to prove its 
right to tax the colonies. When the tea ships came to 
Philadelphia and New York, the people would not let 
them land. At Annapolis, the tea was burned in the 
harbor. In Boston, they would not let the tea be 
landed, and the ships with the tea on board stayed 
nearly three weeks in the harbor. When the landing 
of the tea could no longer be prevented, a party of 
about forty citizens, disguised as Indians, emptied the 
tea-chests into the harbor (December, 1773). 

8. First Continental Congress. 

The First Continental Congress met in Carpenters' 
Hall, Philadelphia, in 1774. It consisted of fifty-five 
delegates, coming from all the colonies except Georgia. 
It passed a Declaration of • Rights, demanding the 
right of the colonists to levy their own taxes and to 
make their own local laws in the Colonial Assemblies. 
It also recommended the stopping of all commercial 
intercourse with England. 



Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, was president of this 
Congress. Washington, Patrick Henry, Samuel 
Adams and John Adams were some of the leading 
members. 
9. The Declaration of Independence. 

In June, 1776, the Second Continental Congress 
meeting in Philadelphia, appointed a committee to 
draw up a Declaration of Independence. This com- 
mittee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, 
Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. 
Livingston. 

Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence almost entirely. It was adopted by the Sec- 
ond Continental Congress in the State House at Phila- 
delphia, on July 4, 1776. 

The great Declaration begins as foUows :— 

''When, in the course of human events, it becomes 
necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands 
which have connected them with another, and to as- 
sume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and 
equal station to which the laws of nature and of na- 
ture's God entitle thern^ a decent respect to the opin- 
ions of mankind requires that they should declare the 
causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men 
are created equal; that they are endowed by their 
Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among 
these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. ' ' 

After naming the various tyrannical acts of King 
George III., the Declaration declared ''That these 
United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and 
independent States; that they are absolved from all 
allegiance to the British crown, and that all political 



connection between them and the State of Great 
Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved. ' ' 
Results of the Revolution. 

The Kevolntion compelled England to make peace, 
and the treaty was made at Paris in 1783. 

By the terms of the treaty the independence of 
United States was acknowledged. It was granted the 
following boundaries^— north by Canada, west by the 
Mississippi River, and south by Florida, which be- 
longed to Spain and extended to Louisiana. 

By this war United States won her place among the 
nations of the world. 
The Adoption of a New Form of Government. 

(a) Colonial Forms of Government. 

The English colonies were all under the control of 
the government of England, but there were three dif- 
ferent kinds of colonial governments, called the Royal 
or Provincial, the Proprietary and the Charter. 

I. The Royal or Provincial governments were 
under the direct control of the king of England. He 
appointed the governor of the colony and the upper 
house of the colonial legislature or council. The peo- 
ple elected the members of the lower house. At the 
beginning of the Revolution, Massachusetts, New 
Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia were Royal 
provinces. 

II. The Proprietary form of government was one 
in which the king gave to certain individuals, called 
proprietors, the ownership of the land of a colony 
and the right to govern it. The proprietor selected the 
governor and the upper house of the colonial legisla- 
ture, while the people elected the lower house. Penn- 



sylvania, Delaware and Maryland had each a proprie- 
tary government at the beginning of the Revolution. 

III. A charter form of government was one in 
which the people had the right to govern themselves. 
The king granted them a document called a charter 
which gave them certain rights and privileges. The 
people elected their governor, and also the members 
of both houses of legislature. This was the best form 
of government because it gave the most freedom to the 
colonists. At the Town Meeting, held once a yeax% 
the men of each town met together and made laws for 
the town, chose town officers, and made appropriations 
for various town purposes. This town system of 
New England was excellent training in self-govern- 
ment, as it was a pure democracy. 

Connecticut and Rhode Island had each a charter 
form of government at the Revolution. 

The resemblances between the three forms of col- 
onial government were:— 

1. In each, there was a governor and an Assembly 
or colonial legislature of two houses. 

2. In each the lower house was elected by the people. 

3. They all claimed the right to manage their own 
local affairs. 

4. They all had to obey the laws of England. 
The differences between the three forms were: — 

1. In the Provincial form, the people were entirely 
dependent on the pleasure of the king, as he appointed 
the governor and the council or upper house. 

2. In the Proprietary form, the power was vested in 
the Proprietor who could appoint the governor and 
council. 



3. In the charter, the power was vested in the peo- 
ple, who elected their own officers and were almost 
independent. 

4. The New England colonies by their Town Meet- 
ings developed a spirit of independence, as did Vir- 
ginia by its House of Burgesses. 

(b) First Attempts of the Colonies at Union. 

Under the colonial forms of government there was 
little political connection between the various colonies. 
They all united and acted together in the French and 
Indian War (1756-63), but when the Avar ended, the 
alliance or union ended. The two ideas of local self- 
government in the colonies and of a union can be seen 
from the earliest times down to the time when the Con- 
stitution of 1787 adopted these two ideas as part of 
itself. 

I. Because the colonies were separated so far from 
each other in those early days of difficult travel, a 
union of all was impossible. The first union of some 
of the colonies was in New England. In 1643, the 
colonies of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut and 
New Haven formed the union called "The United 
Colonies of New England" for protection against 
the Dutch and the Indians. This union lasted forty 
years. Its value in general was that it taught the col- 
onists the advantages of union. 

II. The next attempt at a formal union was made 
by the Albany Convention at the outbreak of the 
French and Indian War. In 1754, delegates from the 
New England Colonies and from Pennsylvania, New 
York and Maryland, met at Albany, New York, to 
form a union for protection against the French and 
Indians. Benjamin Franklin proposed a plan of 



8 

■anion which the Convention adopted, but which the 
colonies and the king rejected. 

By Franklin's plan, there w^as to be a governor- 
general for the colonies, appointed by the king ; in ad- 
dition there was to be a council, composed of represen- 
tatives chosen by the colonial assemblies. The colonies 
and the king each thought it gave the other too much 
power. 

III. The attempt at union made in 1774 was the 
meeting of "The First Continental Congress." 
(See page 3.) 

IV. The first union of all the colonies was "The 
Second Continental Congress." 

The Second Continental Congress met in Independ- 
ence Hall, Philadelphia, in 1775. Its sessions lasted 
with occasional adjournment till the adoption of the 
Articles of Confederation in 1781, and during that 
time it was the head of the government. It was a gov- 
ernment of a revolutionary character only, as the 
country had then no constitution on which the pow- 
ers of Congress were based. Among its measures 
were:— 

1. It took control of the military operations of the 
colonies. 

2. It voted to raise and equip the American Conti- 
nental Army, and elected George Washington com- 
mander-in-chief. 

3. It took measures to pay the expenses of the war. 

4. It organized a general post-office. 

5. It advised the colonies to each form its own state 
government. 

6. It determined upon a separation from England, 
and appointed a committee, of which Thomas Jeffer- 



9 

son was chairman, to draw up a Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. 

7. Congress adopted the Declaration of Independ- 
ence July 4, 1776, declaring the nation free from Eng- 
land. 

8. It appointed a committee to prepare the Articles 
of Confederation, and adopted these Articles on No- 
vember 15, 1777. 

(c) The Articles of Confederation. 

During the Revolution, the colonies had no Consti- 
tution, and were bound together only by the fears and 
by their desire to conquer England. The difficulty 
of carrying on the Revolution showed Congress the 
need of ^ formal union between the states; it also 
showed the need of a general government with power 
fixed by law. To form such a government, the Second 
Continental Congress appointed a committee to pre- 
pare the Articles of Confederation, which would state 
the powers of Congress as a constitution does. Con- 
gress adopted these Articles November 15, 1777. They 
were not to go into effect until ratified by all the states 
and this did not occur until 1781. In 1781, then, the 
Articles became the supreme law of United States, so 
continuing until 1789, when the present Constitution 
took their place. The Articles of Confederation were 
the first system under which the colonies all united. 
They were a great advance on the loose unions that 
preceded them. John Dickinson did most of the work 
in drawing up the Articles of Confederation. 

The chief features of the Articles of Confederation 
were : — 



10 

1. The Confederation was called the United States 
of America, and was only a league or alliance between 
the States. 

2. The different States were independent and sover- 
eign in almost everything. 

3. The legislative department consisted of only one 
body or house, called Congress, which was composed 
of not less than two, nor more than seven delegates 
from each State. 

4. Each State had only one vote in Congress. 

5. As there was no national judiciary, there were no 
national courts. 

6. There was no executive department or President. 
When Congress was in session, it was the legislative 
department and the executive department. When 
Congress adjourned, executive power was vested in a 
' ' Committee of the States, ' ' of thirteen members, one 
from each state. 

7. All matters relating to war, finance, intercourse 
with foreign nations, and disputes between the States 
were to be under the control of Congress, but no power 
was given to Congress to enforce these powers. 

8. The Articles could not be amended without the 

consent of all the States. 

Note. — Compare each of these features with the Constitution 
treating of that subject. 

The great defects of the Articles of Confed- 
eration were:— 

1. Congress could not compel obedience to its own 
laws, nor punish offenders against its laws. 

2. Congress could not compel the raising of a Fed- 
eral army nor could it compel collection of Federal 
taxes. 



11 

3. Congress had power only to advise and suggest, 
not to act. The States Avere almost entirely independ- 
ent, and obeyed or not as they saw fit. 

4. As there was no President of the nation, the laws 
could not be executed. As there was no Judiciary, the 
laws could not be interpreted. 

5. Since every state must consent before the Ar- 
ticles could be amended, it was extremely difficult to 
amend any feature in the Articles. 

The value of the Articles of Confederation. 

The Articles of Confederation were better than no 
constitution, as they accustomed the people to the idea 
of a Federal government. They prepared the way for 
the great Constitution we now have, 
(d) The Adoption of the Constitution. 

I. Reasons for the Adoption of the Constitution. 
There were several causes or circumstances which 

led to the adoption of the present Constitution. 

The people saw the need of a government, strong 
enough to compel obedience to its laws. The Articles 
of Confederation were very defective. (Give the five 
great defects.) 

Various troubles had been caused by the weak gov- 
ernment. In IMassachusetts, in 1786-87, Daniel Shays 
headed an insurrection to resist the collection of taxes, 
and soldiers had to be employed to put this revolt 
down. Quarrels arose between the States about bound- 
aries, and about duties levied by one State on goods 
brought from others. To keep the Union together at 
all, people saw the Articles must be revised. 

II. Action of the Convention. 

A Constitutional Convention, composed of delegates 
from all the States except Rhode Island, met in In- 



12 

dependence Hall, Philadelphia, in 1787, to revise the 
Articles of Confederation. Among its prominent 
members were Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamil- 
ton, James Madison, Robert Morris, Roger Sherman, 
and Gouverneur Morris. Washington was elected 
president of the Convention. After some discussion it 
was seen that it would be impossible to revise the Ar- 
ticles, and it was decided to form a new Constitution. 

It took four months to form this Constitution, being 
completed by the Convention, September 17, 1787. The 
Constitution gave the Federal government full power 
to coin money, to form and control an army and a 
navy, to lay taxes, to make treaties, and to make laws 
for the nation. It divided the Federal government in- 
to three departments, Legislative or lawmaking, Exec- 
utive or law enforcing, and Judicial or law interpret- 
ing, and stated how each of these w^as to be appointed 
and what the duties of each were. 

It was a difficult work to form this instrument for 
each man had his own ideas. There were three great 
plans discussed: — 

(1) The Virginia Plan, proposed by James Madi- 
son, which made the Federal government supreme. 
This plan was in the main adopted. 

(2) Hamilton's Plan, which would have made the 
government an aristocracy if that had been adopted. 

(3) The New Jersey Plan, w^hicli made the State 
still equal in power to Congress, and which advocated 
a Congress of one house. 

Three great compromises were adopted in forming 
the Consitution. They were as follows: — 

(1) Regarding Representation.— To please the small 
States, the Constitution gave equal representation to 



13 

the States in the Senate, as every State, large or small, 
was allowed two Senators. 

To please the large States, representation in the 
House of Representatives was to be according to the 
population, so that the State with the greatest popula- 
tion would send the greatest number of Representa- 
tives to Congress. 

(2) Regarding Slavery. — To please the slave-hold- 
ing states, three-fifths of the slaves were to be counted 
in estimating the number of Representatives each 
State might send to Congress, but in order to pacify 
the North, slaves were not counted in full. 

(3) Regarding Slavery. — To please the South, 
slaves might be imported up to 1808. To please the 
North, the Constitution said a tax of ten dollars or less 
might be laid on each slave imported, and the slave 
importation must stop in 1808. 

III. The Adoption of the Constitution. 

The Convention adopted the Constitution Septem- 
ber 17, 1787. It was to go into effect when ratified by 
nine States. Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland 
ratified it in 1787. The next year seven other States 
ratified it, and in 1790 Rhode Island, which was the 
last one, agreed to it. 

Hamilton, Jay and Madison induced New York to 
ratify the Constitution by "The Federalist" essays, 
published in a New York paper. 

Note 1: — The six objects of the Constitution are stated in its 
preamble. The Preamble also declares the source of all govern- 
ment power to be in the people. 

Note 2:— The five most important Conventions in our early 
history were: The New England Convention in 1643, the Al- 
bany Convention^ in 1754, the First Continental Congress in 
1774, the Second Continental Congress beginning 1775, and the 
Constitutional Convention of 1787. 



14 

Note 3:— Gladstone, the great English statesman, said: ''The 
American Constitution is the most wonderful work ever struck 
off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man. ' ' 

(e) The Establishment of the New Government. 

The new Constitution went into operation on March 
4, 1789, though the inauguration of Washington as 
President did not occur until April 30, 1789. The new 
Congress and the President had a difficult task. The 
government had to establish public credit, raise reve- 
nue, organize new territory, develop industries and 
national resources. 

The nation was deeply in debt, and could not bor- 
row readily as it had no credit. 

Hamilton proposed various plans to Congress, and 
Congress adopted them. 

Hamilton's plans were :~ 

(1) The laying of a tariff on goods imported into 
United States. This not only raised revenue for govern- 
ment needs, but encouraged American manufactures. 
He raised additional revenue by having a tax laid on 
whiskey. 

(2) By his plans, Congress assumed the National 
and State debts in full, making the National debt in 
1790 the sum of $75,000,000. By promising to pay this 
debt, Congress established United States credit, show- 
ing that we were honest, and worthy of further credit. 

(3) By Hamilton's plans, Congress established the 
Bank of United States in 1791. It was a great aid to 
business as its bills or notes were accepted all over 
United States. 

The government had numerous political difficulties. 
. (1) The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 was an attempt 
by the people of western Pennsylvania to resist the 



15 

payment of the government tax on whiskey. An army 
was sent there by Washington and the people saw they 
must obey. " 

(2) There were weighty difficulties also between 
America and England and between America and 
France. Because the old debt to British merchants had 
not been paid, England refused to give up Detroit and 
other lake ports and seized seamen from American 
vessels as British subjects. John Jay made a treaty 
with England settling all the points except impress- 
ment of our seamen. The treaty was unpopular, but 
the Senate ratified it to allay the trouble. 

(3) The trouble with France arose out of the action 
of Genet, the French minister to United States. He 
wished the United States to aid France against Eng- 
land, but Washington knew we were too weak a nation 
to mingle in that quarrel, and insisted on neutrality. 
Genet then defied the government and began to fit out 
privateers from our ports to attack British commerce. 
Washington compelled France to recall him. In John 
Adams's Administration, the trouble with France con- 
tinued. Our envoys in France were insulted and a 
bribe was demanded of them before they would be re- 
ceived by the French government. The demand was 
refused and war began. After two naval defeats, 
France, under its new ruler. Napoleon, made peace 
with America. 

Thus the struggling nation had established itself, 
led by its" great guides, Washington, Hamilton and 
Jefferson. 
Biographies. 

Samuel Adams has been called ''The Father of the 
Revolution." This great patriot was one of the lead- 



16 

ing men of Massachusetts in advocating opposition to 
English oppression and in urging independence. He 
opposed the Stamp Act and urged the formation cf 
Non-importation Agreements among the colonists. 
Until the oppressive taxes were removed he bound him- 
self "to eat nothing, drink nothing, wear nothing" im- 
ported from England. He took a leading part in the 
Boston Tea-party of 1773. Massachusetts sent him 
as delegate to the First Continental Congress in 1774 
and to the Second Continental Congress, where he 
signed the Declaration of Independence. 

King George III. considered him one of the chief 
rebels, for without him as leader Boston w^ould pos- 
sibly not have resisted England. 

John Adams was an eminent Revolutionary patriot. 
After graduating from Harvard, he soon became a 
lawyer. He refused the offer of a distinguished posi- 
tion under the English government, and took the side 
of the colonists. He opposed the Stamp Act of 1765 
and other oppressive measures of England. 

His sense of fair play made him defend in court the 
British soldiers in the Boston IMassacre of 1770. Mas- 
sachusetts sent him as delegate to the First Continen- 
tal Congress and also to the Second Continental Con- 
gress. It was Adams proposed Washington as Com- 
mander-in-chief of the Continental Army, and it was 
he who chiefly caused the Congress to declare for inde- 
pendence. He with Franklin and Jay drew up the 
treaty of 1783, which ended the Revolution. He was 
the first Vice-President of United States and served as 
President from 1797 to 1801. The Alien and Sedition 
Laws passed in his administration made him unpopu- 
lar for some years. He and Jefferson died on the same 



17 

day, July 4, 1826, just fifty years after the first Inde- 
pendence Day. 

Patrick Henry, of Virginia, by his eloquence, did 
much to rouse the colonies to resist England. His first 
great case as a lawyer was in the Parson's Case. The 
Virginia House of Burgesses had passed a law saying 
the clergy should be paid in currency rather than by 
tobacco which was dear by reason of a short crop. The 
king said they must be paid as before in tobacco. One 
minister sued to recover damages in 1763, and by Hen- 
ry's eloquence, the jury gave the parson one penny 
damages. 

In 1765, Henry, then a member of the Virginia 
House of Burgesses, opposed the Stamp Act, declaring 
that Virginia's taxes could only be laid by the House of 
Burgesses. 

His resistance caused other colonies also to oppose 
English oppression. Virginia sent him as one of her 
delegates to the First Continental Congress in 1774. 
When British troops were sent to Boston, the people of 
Virginia were greatly aroused. They elected a con- 
vention of prominent citizens which met in St. John's 
Church, Richmond. Here, in March, 1775, Patrick 
Henry made a great speech, urging war against Eng- 
land. In the speech he said, ' ' We must fight ! I repeat 
it sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the 
God of hosts is all that is left to us." In concluding 
he said, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be pur- 
chased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, 
Almighty God. I know not what course others may 
take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death !" 
This speech had an immense effect all over the coloniea 



18 

in causing them to fight for their freedom from Eng- 
lish oppression. 

During the Revolution, Henry, as governor of Vir- 
ginia, ably supported Washington with men and sup- 
plies. Henry opposed the Constitution of 1787, saying 
it had ' ' an awful squinting toward monarchy. ' ' 

John Hancock was a rich Boston merchant. So 
boldly did he support the cause of the colonists in their 
resistance to England that Gage, when he offered to 
pardon the rebels, excepted Hancock from his offer. 
He was the first president of the Second Continental 
Congress, signing the Declaration of Independence as 
such. From 1777 until his death he was annually re- 
elected governor of Massachusetts. His means and his 
influence helped the colonists greatly during the Revo- 
lution. 

Benjamin Franklin was one of the greatest men 
America ever produced. Born in Boston, of poor par- 
ents, his schooling was limited. He really was self- 
educated. Apprenticed to his brother, he learned 
printing, and at seventeen left for Philadelphia, be- 
ginning his own career. When twenty-three, he be- 
came editor and proprietor of a newspaper, the ' ' Penn- 
sylvania Gazette," and three years later he began his 
famous "Poor Richard's Almanac," which he con- 
tinued for twenty-five years. He early entered poli- 
tics. In 1754, he was a delegate to the Albany Con- 
vention suggesting a plan of union (Describe it). The 
Pennsylvania Assembly sent Franklin as agent to Eng- 
land and while there, he opposed the passage of the 
Stamp Act of 1765. Wlien summoned before Parlia- 
ment the next year, his clear reasoning showed them 
the folly of the Stamp Act and aided in its repeal. On 



19 

his return home to Philadelphia in 1775, he was chosen 
delegate to the Second Continental Congress, serving 
as a member of the committee that framed the Declara- 
tion of Independence. Being sent as ambassador to 
France, his wisdom and ability won the French, and 
an alliance between France and America was formed 
in 1778. This alliance really secured our independ- 
ence, by the aid that France gave us at that critical 
period. Franklin also aided in forming the treaty of 
1783, which ended the Revolution. Over eighty years 
old, the nation still needed him, and he was a promi- 
nent member of the Convention that framed the Con- 
stitution in 1787. The services of Franklin cannot 
well be overestimated. 

George Washington was born in Virginia, Febru- 
ary 22, 1732, being the son of a rich planter. As his 
father died when George was only eleven, his mother 
and his brother Lawrence, at Mount Yernon, had 
much to do with his training. At twenty-one, Wash- 
ington was sent by Governor Dinwiddle, of Virginia, 
to demand the removal of the French forts in north- 
western Pennsylvania. This perilous wilderness 
journey proved the bravery and skill of the future 
general. When the French and Indian War broke out, 
Washington served as Braddock's aide-de-camp, and 
by his efforts the remnant of the British army was 
saved from utter rout in the battle near Fort Duquesne 
in 1755. Mount Vernon he had inherited from his 
brother, and his marriage with Mrs. Martha Custis 
(1759) made him one of the richest men in America. 
It meant much when this rich planter risked his pos- 
sessions to fight for the colonists in their struggle with 
England. He was sent as one of Virginia's delegates 



20 



toJ;he First Continental Congress in 1774. In June, 
1775, Congress elected him commander-in-chief of the 
Continental army. With those undisciplined troops he 
besieged Gage in Boston, compelling his evacuation 
m the spring of 1776. His retreat through the Jerseys 
after the unsuccessful New York campaign and his 
brilliant victory at Trenton in 1776 showed his power 
as a general. After losing the Philadelphia campaign 
Washington still held the confidence of his soldiers' 
and not even the terrors of Valley Forge conquered 
their devotion to their leader and the cause. York- 
town m 1781 crowned his years of unpaid service to 
the nation and when peace came, Washington returned 
quietly to private life. The confusion and disorder 
caused by the Articles of Confederation brought 
Washington again to the front, and in 1787 he served 
as president of the Constitutional Convention. Cinder 
this new Constitution he was elected President of 
United States, serving two terms. Aided by Hamilton 
•and Jefferson he established the new government 
overcoming the difficulties of an empty treasury and 
of a threatened war with England. 

Washington declined a third term as President and 
issued his "Farewell Address" in September, 1796. 
This address was full of wisdom, urging the value of 
union and the danger of foreign alliances. Washing- 
ton died in 1799 at Mount Vernon. He was, in truth, 
the '^ Father of his Country." Jefferson said truly of 
him, ''He was indeed, in every sense of the word, a 
wise, a good, and a great man. " 

Thomas Jefferson was a prominent American 
statesman. He was brilliantly educated and became 
a lawyer. Virginia sent him as a delegate to the Sec- 



21 

ond Continental Congress in 1775, and the next yeai, 
Jefferson wrote the immortal Declaration of Independ- 
ence. This paper had an immense effect on the colo- 
nists, rousing them to a united resistance to England 
in defence of their liberty. 

After the Revolution, Jefferson was a member of the 
Congress that ruled under the Articles of Confedera- 
tion, and the decimal currency of to-day was due to 
his bill establishing such money in place of English 
money. Washington appointed him as his Secretary of 
State, and as such Jefferson became the leader of the 
Republican Party which opposed most of Hamilton's 
ideas and plans. Jefferson served as Vice-President 
under John Adams, and after him, held the presidency 
from 1801 to 1809. Jefferson believed in ''republican 
simplicity. ' ' He hated titles and ceremonies, dressing 
in plain clothes, and avoiding all the display that had 
marked the preceding administration. These dem- 
ocratic ideas had a great effect on the people. In that 
administration, imitating Jefferson, they adopted the 
dress of to-day, instead of the showy colonial attire. 

His purchase of Louisiana from France in 1803 was 
the greatest event of his administration. This pur- 
chase opposed his doctrine of State rights and he said, 
' ' The executive authority had to be stretched until it 
cracked, to cover the purchase of Louisiana." Other 
great events were the exploration of the Louisiana 
Territory by Lewis and Clarke in 1804-1806, and Ful- 
ton's invention of the steamboat. 

At the end of his term he retired to Monticello, his 
Virginia estate, dying there in 1826, on July 4, the 
day he had made famous by his ' ' Declaration of Inde- 
pendence. " 



22 

Robert Morris was a distinguished American 
statesman and financier. This rich Philadelphia 
banker and merchant took the side of the struggling 
colonists against England. He was a member of the 
Second Continental Congress, signing the Declaration 
of Independence. In 1777, just after the battle of 
Trenton, in answer to "Washington's request, Morris 
sent him fifty thousand dollars, thus enabling Wash- 
ington to keep his ill-paid army together. The battle of 
Yorktown could not have been fought if Morris had 
not advanced his own funds to equip and move the 
army. During the war he issued his personal notes 
to the amount of several million dollars, and American 
independence could not have been won without his 
money. 

In 1781 he was Superintendent of Finance, serving 
for three years. He was a member of the Constitu- 
tional Convention of 1787, aiding in the formation of 
that instrument. 

After the war, owing to business failure, he lost his 
fortune and was cast into a debtors' prison for four 
years, neglected by the government for which he had 
done so much. 

Alexander Hamilton was born on the West Indian 
island of Nevis. A merchant clerk at twelve, his liter- 
ary talents caused his friends to send him to United 
States to be educated. He went to King's College, 
New York, in 1773, and soon took the colonists' side in 
their struggle with England. When the war broke out, 
Hamilton became a captain of artillery, serving at the 
battles of Long Island, Trenton, and Princeton. In 
1777, he became Washington's aide-de-camp and con- 
fidential secretary. At Yorktown he commanded a 



23 

battalion of Washington's army. After the war, he 
became a lawyer. New York sent him as delegate to 
the Constitutional Convention of 1787, as he clearly 
saw the need of a strong Federal government. His 
plan was not adopted by the Convention, but he signed 
the new Constitution and really secured its ratification 
by New York through the powerful essays, ' ' The Fed- 
eralist." Hamilton wrote more than half of these es- 
says which so clearly explained the value and the 
meaning of the new Constitution. 

Washington appointed him Secretary of the Treas- 
ury in 1789, and his measures established the credit of 
United States firmly (Describe Hamilton's Measures, 
Page 14) . He assisted Washington in writing the lat- 
ter 's ''Farewell Address." 

Hamilton's most bitter enemy was Aaron Burr, 
since it was Hamilton's influence which had saved the 
nation from having Burr as President. When Hamil- 
ton opposed Burr as candidate for the position of gov- 
ernor of New York, Burr challenged him and killed 
him in a duel in 1804. 

Talleyrand, the great French statesman, said he had 
never known any man equal in ability to Hamilton. 
No patriot's name stands higher than Hamilton's. 

James Madison was an eminent American states- 
man, born in Virginia. He was a prominent member 
of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He was the 
chief author of the ''Virginia Plan," which formed 
the main basis of the Constitution. He also proposed 
the "three-fifths rule," by which three-fifths of the 
number of slaves were to be counted in determining the 
number of representatives a State could send to Con- 
gress. Without this clause, the Southern States would 



24 

never have adopted the Constitution. He with Hamil- 
ton and Jay wrote ' ' The Federalist ' ' essays, which had 
such an effect in securing the adoption of the Consti- 
tution by the states. He was Secretary of State under 
Jefferson, and succeeded him as President. During his 
administration, the War pf 1812 was fought with Eng- 
land, resulting in the establishment of United States 
as a great power, whose rights other nations were 
forced to respect. 

William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, was a great Eng- 
lish statesman. As William Pitt, he was a member of 
the House of Commons, and became in 1757 the Secre- 
tary of State in the English ministry. He carried the 
French and Indian war to a successful close and it was 
after him that the colonists named Fort Duquesne 
when captured. The English idolized him and called 
him "the Great Commoner." In 1766, as a member 
of Parliament, he attacked the Stamp Act, saying that 
England had no right to tax the colonists. Knowing 
that the Americans were fighting for their just rights, 
he said, "The gentlemen tell us America is obstinate, 
America is in open rebellion. I rejoice that America 
has resisted." It was largely due to his efforts that 
the Stamp Act was repealed. So, in 1775, when Earl 
of Chatham, he demanded the repeal of the Boston 
Port bill, believing that the colonists ought to be fairly 
treated. His last speech, in 1778, opposed granting 
the colonies their independence. During this speech 
he had an apoplectic fit, dying a few weeks later. 

Edmund Burke, a great English orator and states- 
man, was a friend of the American colonies. His 
speech in Parliament against American taxation in 
1774 was fine oratory, as was his speech in 1775, on 



25 

* * Conciliation with America, ' ' recommending kindness 
and fairness toward the angry American colonists. If 
Burke's advice had been followed, the Revolution 
might never have been fought. 

Baron von Steuben was a German officer who had 
served under Frederick the Great. In 1777, he entered 
the service of America, and at Valley Forge he drilled 
and reorganized the army into capable and well dis- 
ciplined troops. He served at Monmouth and York- 
town. He showed his devotion to the American cause 
by spending his fortune freely to feed and clothe his 
men. 

Marquis de Lafayette, a wealthy young noble of 
France, in spite of the opposition of King Louis XVL, 
sailed to America in 1777, to aid the American col- 
onists in fighting for their liberty. He fought in the 
battles of Brandywine, Monmouth and Yorktown, aid- 
ing greatly in securing the Americans' triumph. 

On his return to France he aided in establishing 
the new government. When he could no longer control 
the excesses of the French Revolutionists he fled from 
France. Austria seized him and imprisoned him for 
five years, Napoleon securing his release in 1797. 

His second visit to America in 1824-1825 was a 
scene of triumph, for the grateful people showed ev- 
ery possible honor to this unselfish hero. 

Growth in Territory and Population. 

By the terms of the Treaty of Paris which closed 
the Revolution, the United States extended from the 
Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, and from 
Canada to Florida, which belonged to Spain and ex- 
tended along the Gulf of Mexico to Louisiana. 



26 

Many acqiiisitions of territory have been made since 
1783. In 1803, Jefferson sent Monroe to France to 
buy from Napoleon the island of New Orleans in order 
to secure control of the Mississippi River. Napoleon, 
needing money and thinking the region too distant to 
defend against the English, sold all of Louisiana Ter= 
ritory to United States for fifteen million dollars. Tnis 
more than doubled its area, as Louisiana Territory ex- 
tended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky 
Mountains. 

In 1804, Jefferson sent out an expedition under 
Captains Lewis and Clark to explore the Louisiana 
Territory. They started from St. Louis, and went to 
the Columbia River, going down to its mouth. They 
returned in 1806, and their report of the wealth of the 
countrj^ showed its great value. 

The second territorial acquisition was that of 
Florida, in 1819. Florida belonged to Spain, but she 
could not maintain order there. General Jackson was 
sent there in 1818, conquered the Indians, and invaded 
Florida. Spain was glad to sell Florida to United 
States the next year (1819) for five million dollars. 
This gave the United States the Gulf coast. 

The third acquisition was Texas, in 1845. Texas 
had revolted against Mexico and had formed a repub- 
lic. It then applied for admission to United States. 
The question was not settled for several years, as the 
North opposed its admission, and the slave-holding 
South favored it. Finally, at the close of Tyler's ad- 
ministration, in 1845, Congress passed the bill annex- 
ing Texas, and the President signed it. This added an 
area of over 370,000 square miles, including the Texas 



27 

of- to-day, and part of New Mexico, Colorado and 
Kansas. 

The fourth territorial acquisition was Oregon, in 
1846. The disputed Oregon country, which was claimed 
by both England and United States, stretched from 
California and Nevada to Alaska, west of the Rocky 
Mountains. United States based its claim on the dis- 
covery of the Columbia River by Captain Gray in 
1792 and on the Lewis and Clark exploring expedi- 
tion of 1804-1806. Dr. Marcus Whitman urged the 
United States government to claim the Oregon coun- 
try, and in the summer of 1843, took out there almost 
one thousand settlers. The American cry was "Fifty- 
four forty or fight," meaning that they insisted on 
the possession of Oregon up to Alaska. In 1846, by 
treaty with England, the forty-ninth parallel was 
made the northern boundary line of United States. 
From the Oregon country, the States of Oregon, 
Washington and Idaho have been formed. 

The fifth territorial acquisition was the Mexican 
Cession, in 1848. This region of over 500,000 square 
miles extended from the Rocky Mountains to the 
Pacific Ocean, and from Mexico to the Oregon country. 
It was obtained by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 
signed in 1848, after our army had conquered Mexico. 
United States in return gave Mexico fifteen million 
dollars. 

The Gadsden Purchase of 1853 was made by 
United States, to settle a disputed boundary line with 
Mexico. United States paid Mexico ten million dol- 
lars, obtaining the land in New Mexico and Arizona, 
south of the Gila River. 



28 

In 1867, Alaska was purchased by the United 
States from Russia, for a little over seven million dol- 
lars. The area thus acquired was over 500,000 square 
miles. 

In 1898, the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean 
were annexed by Act of Congress, at the request of the 
inhabitants of these islands. 

The ninth acquisition of territory was made in 
1898, by the treaty ending the Spanish-American 
War. By this treaty we acquired the Philippine Is 
lands, Guam in the Ladrone Islands, and Porto Rico, 
in the West Indies. United States gave Spain $20,- 
000,000 for her claims on the Philippines. 

The number of States in 1790 was thirteen; it is 
now (1904), forty-five. 

The population by the first census in 1790 was 
about 3,900,000. The last census, in 1900, showed the 
population to be over 76,000,000. 

The temperate climate, the rich soil, the valuable 
mineral deposits and the opportunities offered for 
commerce by numerous rivers and harbors have all 
contributed to this increase in the population of 
United States, as they attracted immigrants from 
Europe. In earlier years, the immigrants came chiefly 
from England, Ireland, Germany. In later years, a 
less desirable class of immigrants has come from Rus- 
sia, Hungary, and Italy. 
Progress in the Useful Arts. 

(a) Heating. In most colonial houses, the im- 
mense open fireplace, burning wood, was the only 
means of heating. After 1835, anthracite coal became 
widely used for heating buildings, and is now used al- 
most entirely in the cities, in stoves and furnaces, to 



29 

furnish heat. Many public buildings are heated by hot 
water or steam to-day, and some by electricity. Oil 
and gas are also used to a certain extent for heating 
dwellings. 

(b) Lighting in colonial days was mainly by means 
of candles and lamps burning whale oil. The logs in 
the fireplace also gave a certain amount of light to the 
room. As there were no matches, to kindle the fire 
they must borrow burning wood from a neighbor or 
•else start it by striking flint against steel. About 
1820, gas was used for lighting in the large cities, but 
it was the middle of the century before small towns 
used it. Petroleum was discovered in Pennsylvania 
in 1856, and since then has proved a valued means of 
lighting dwellings. 

Thomas Edison invented the electric light in 1876. 
Electricity began to be used for lighting large build- 
ings and streets in 1879, and is now used almost en- 
tirely for these purposes. 

(c) Weaving in colonial days was done by hand, 
and every family had its spinning wh'eel and hand 
loom for making cloth from the flax and wool. This 
"homespun" was about the only cloth used then. The 
invention of Eli Whitney's cotton-gin in 1793 made 
cotton available for manufacturing purposes, for by 
this invention the seeds could be removed cheaply 
from the cotton. This invention has developed the 
South, by making cotton a profitable crop, and has 
also been of great value to the North, by supplying a 
material for its machinery to weave into cloth. Weav- 
ing is done entirely in factories, to-day, the machinery^: 5 
l)eing driven by steam or electricity. 



30 

(d) Sewing was also done entirely by hand in col- 
onial days. The invention of the sewing-machine by 
Elias Howe in 1846 has greatly lessened the labor of 
sewing, for to-day, alu^oitt ever}- faiiiily has its sew- 
ing-machine. It has also cheaphitd the price of all 
sewed goods, such as articles of clothing, boots and 
shoes. In factories, steam and electricity are used to 
run the machines. 

(e) Means of Communication and Travel. 

1. What little travel there was in colonial days was 
on foot or horseback or by coartjng vessels. The first 
stage betwen New York and Philadelphia began in 
1756, the journey taking three days. In 1766, this 
journey was reduced to two days. 

2. Internal communication improved greatly after 
the roads were made better. The National Pike or 
Cumberland Road from Cumberland in Maryland, 
on the Potomac River, to Wheeling in West Virginia, 
on the Ohio River, was begun in 1806. This road was 
later continued to the Mississippi. 

3. After Fulton's steamboat, the Clermont, in 
1807, went from New York to Albany in thirty-two 
hours, travel on rivers and lakes became greatly facili- 
tated. 

4. The Erie Canal was begun in Monroe's Adminis- 
tration through the efforts of Governor Clinton, of 
New York. It extended east, across New York, from 
Buffalo on Lake Erie to Albany on the Hudson River, 
a distance of 363 miles. It took eight years to build, 
being finished in 1825. 

Its effect was to greatly increase commerce. It re- 
duced the cost of freight greatly, making Eastern 



31 

goods much cheaper when sent West for sale. It made 
New York our greatest seaport. 

5. The first passenger railroad in United States was 
near Baltimore. It was about thirteen miles long, and 
was first used in 1830. By the end of that year, there 
were twenty-three miles of railroad in United States. 
In 1869, when the Union Pacific from Omaha, and the 
Central Pacific from San Francisco were united at 
Ogden, Utah, railway connection was established be- 
tween New York and San Francisco. 

In 1904, there were almost 200,000 miles of railroad 
in United States, which leads the world in the extent 
of its railways. 

6. Electricity has greatly improved travel in 
cities. The first electric railway was m Kichmond, 
Virginia, in 1888. Now every town has such means of 
travel. The automobile is steadily increasing in value 
for business purposes, as its electric or oil motor dis- 
penses with the horse. 

7. Ocean travel in colonial days was a terrible 
hardship, as it took at least six weeks to sail from 
America to Europe. In 1819, the Savannah, moved 
partly hy steam and partly by wind, crossed from 
Savannah to Liverpool. 

Ericsson invented the screw propeller in 1836, 
which required much less fuel to move vessels than the 
paddle wheel, and soon after, steamships began cross- 
ing the Atlantic regularly. 

To-day, the swift "ocean liners" cross the ocean in 
^ little over five days. 

(f) Means of Communication. 

1. Letters in colonial days were rarely sent. Be- 
fore Franklin became postmaster-general, mail be- 



32 

tween New York and Philadelphia was sent by horse- 
back, going once a week in summer, and once in two 
weeks in winter. Franklin caused the mail to be de- 
livered three times a week. 

The rate of postage varied then according to the 
distance. Thus, in Washington's administration, the 
postage on a letter from New York to Boston was sey- 
enteen cents, and to Richmond, Virginia, was twenty- 
five cents. In 1885, after repeated reductions, a let- 
ter could be sent anywhere in United States at two 
cents per ounce. Five cents will take a letter to apy 
foreign country. 

2. The telegraph was invented by Samuel F. B. 
Morse, and the first line was completed in 1844, being 
between Baltimore and Washington. ''What hath 
God wrought!" was the first message. This mode of 
communication has been of immense value to business 
and commerce owing to its great speed. There are 
over a millipn miles of telegraph wires noAV in United 
States. 

3. The electric telephone was invented' by Alexan- 
der Graham Bell in 1876. To-day its use is universal, 
enabling people in different parts of the city or in dif- 
ferent cities to converse together. This greatly facili- 
tates business, saving much time. 

4. Cables are now a valued means of communica- 
tion with distant countries. Cyrus W. Field in 1858 
laid a cable on the bed of the Atlantic between Ireland 
and Newfoundland. When this failed. Field re- 
newed his efforts, laying a successful cable in 1866. 
To-day we have numerous cables, permitting messages 
being sent rapidly across oceans by electric currents. 

Note.— State the value of steam and of electricity in the 
various useful arts. 



33 



Proc^ress in Education. ,. ^ j.- ^„ 

IB colonial New England, from the earhest Umes, 
great attention was paid to the education of the yo^g- 
Massachusetts by law compelled every town to estab- 
nsrat::tchooI and the other New B^^la^^ -lon.es 
were just as attentive to popular education^ In these 
colonies, higher education was provided for by Har 
va^ C^llei, near Boston, which was es|.bl.he^^^^^^^^ 
1636, and by Yale College near New Haven, Connec 
ticut which was founded in 1701. 

In Pennsylvania, the Quakers took great interest m 
educaL, establishing a school in P^^ladelp" 
very year it was settled. The Universitj' of Pennsyl- 
IZl in Philadelphia, was founded by Franklin and 

^^NlwToJk under English rule gave but little atten- 
tion to public education, and all through the middle 
colonies private schools were much more common than 
public ones. In Virginia, the rich planters employed 
private tutors for their sons or sent them f -^^ ° b« 
educated, and this was the case in most of the South- 

'"intlUht colonial lower schools, the pupils suffered 
from the poor character of the education. 

The schools were few in number, and were without 
the educational facilities of to-day The chief tex^^- 
books were the primer and the spelling-book for the 
^'three KV (Readin', 'Ritin', and 'Rithmetic) were 
thfonly branches taught. The punishments inflicted 
wpre often cruel and brutal. 

The improved condition of the schools has only been 
brought about by repeated efforts. All the States no^ 
have creditable public schools, on which great sums 



34 

of money are spent. The credit of Pennsylvania's 
public schools is due first, to Governor Wolf, who in- 
duced the Legislature to establish a system of free 
public schools in 1834, and second, to Thaddeus Stev- 
ens, who, by his eloquence, prevented the repeal of 
that law in 1835. 

To-day, with educated teachers, excellent text- 
books and well-equipped schools, open free to all, 
there is nothing to prevent everyone from getting an 
education. 
Progress in Literature. 

(a) Colonial literature was largely religious in 
character, most of the books being collections of ser- 
mons. Cotton Mather, a famous Boston preacher, 
noted for his witchcraft persecutions, wrote numerous 
religious works. Another colonial writer is the great 
Jonathan Edwards, whose ''Essay on the Freedom of 
the Will" is to-day unsurpassed in that line of reason- 
ing. Benjamin Franklin's "Poor Richard's Al- 
manac," published by him for twenty-five years was 
Ihighly prized for its wise maxims. 

(b) During the Revolution, the literature was all 
political in character. Thomas Paine 's pamphlet, 
''Common Sense," published in 1776, advocated Am- 
erican independence and did much to rouse the colo- 
nists. Thomas Jefferson's great "Declaration of Inde- 
pendence" is one of the finest papers of the kind ever 
written. The essaj^s, called "The Federalist," writ- 
ten by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John 
Jay to explain the Constitution and secure its adop- 
tion by New York are also powerful political writings. 

(c) After the War of 1812, in Monroe's Adminis- 
tration, real American literature began. Washington 



35 

Irving was one of the earliest writers of that era. He 
wrote '^The Sketch Book'' first, which is a series of 
delightful essays. Among the histories written by 
Irving is a ''History of the Life and Voyages of 
Christopher Columbus. ' ' 

The first American novelist of any note was James 
Fenimore Cooper. He wrote "The Spy," and ''The 
Last of the Mohicans. ' ' The first great American poet 
was William Cullen Bryant. His beautiful "Thana- 
topsis" (a view of death) was written when he was 
only eighteen. "To a Waterfowl" and "The Death 
of the Flowers" are two other beautiful poems by 
Bryant. 

Three other great American poets are John Green- 
leaf Whittier, Henry W. Longfellow and James Rus- 
sell Lowell. Whittier 's best known poems are 
"Barbara Frietchie," "Among the Hills," and 
"Snowbound." Longfellow wrote "The Children's 
Hour," "Evangeline," "Hiawatha," and "The 
Courtship of Miles Standish." Lowell wrote "The 
Vision of Sir Launfal," "Ode to Freedom," and 
"Under the Old Elm." 

Edgar Allan Poe wrote poems and tales, "The 
Raven" being his best-known poem. Oliver Wendell 
Holmes also wrote prose and poetry, "The Autocrat 
at the Breakfast Table" being his most famous prose, 
and "The Chambered Nautilus" his most famous 
poetical writing. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson is chiefly famous for his 
great essays, such as "Representative Men." His 
poem "Rhodora" is one of the most beautiful in thet 
language. 






36 

The two greatest American novelists are Nathaniel 
Hawthorne, who wrote "The Scarlet Letter," "The 
Marble Faun," and "The House of the Seven 
Gables," and Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote the 
powerful anti-slavery novel, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." 

America has also produced some great historians. 
The three greatest are William Hickling Prescott, 
George Bancroft, and John Lothrop Motley. Prescott 
wrote, "Conquest of Mexico," and "Conquest of 
Peru." Bancroft wrote a "History of United States" 
(from 1492 to 1789), and Motley wrote "The Rise of 
the Dutch Republic." 
Progress in Newspapers. 

The first permanent American newspaper was the 
"Boston News Letter," a weekly, published first in 
1704. Sometimes it was printed on a single foolscap 
sheet, and sometimes on a half sheet. During the 
Revolution, there were thirty-seven newspapers, but 
the first daily paper "The American Daily Adver- 
tiser" appeared in Philadelphia only in 1784. The 
first one-cent daily was the New York "Daily Sun" 
which began in Jackson's administration. 

These papers were all small and their news was 
chiefly local. They bore no comparison to the great 
newspapers of the present, which are such powerful 
educators and leaders, numbering as they do almost 
twenty thousand in United States. 
Financial Questions. 

(a) In colonial times, there was little real money. 
At first the colonists, like the Indians, used strings of 
shell beads called wampum. Later, in Virginia, to- 
bacco was often used in place of money. Of course, 
the English coins were used all through the colonies, 



37 

:sis were Spanish coins. The Boston mint was early 
-established and its "Pine-tree" shilling became well 
'known. The shilling bore a figure of a pine tree, giv- 
ing it its name. 

The Continental Congress issued paper money to 
<carry on the Revolution. All paper money is simply 
-•a promise to pay, and when the government issuing it 
lias no gold or silver to redeem its pledge, the paper 
money becomes worthless. This was the case with the 
Continental paper money, which sank in value until 
-$40 in bills was worth $1 in coin. 

(b) When the Constitution was adopted, it gave 
Congress power to coin money, and under this provi- 
sion. Congress established a mint in Philadelphia in 
1792. 

The credit of the new government was very low, and 
it was Hamilton who saved it by the measures he in- 
duced Congress to pass. (Describe in full Hamilton's 
Plans, Page 14). Connected with the government's 
&iancial history is its tariff history. 

(c) A tariff is a tax or duty laid on articles im- 
ported into a country. It is the opposite of "free 
trade" which imposes no duties at all on imports. 
Hamilton's plans included the laying of a tariff, but 
it was not very high. A high tariff or protective tariff 
is one which is intended to protect American manu- 
factures by laying such a tax on imported goods as 
Tyill make them more expensive than similar goods 
made here. A protective tariff, sometimes called ' ' The 
American System," began in 1816, after the War of 
1812, and continued until 1846. In 1828, a very high 
tariff was passed. The North as a manufacturing sec- 
lion favored it, while the South, an agricultural sec- 



38 

tion, opposed it. To appease the South, the tariff of 
1832 was passed, but it failed to allay the trouble. 
South Carolina declared the tariff ''null and void"' 
and threatened to secede if the duties were collected. 
President Jackson did not believe a State had the 
right to secede. He therefore sent troops and ships to- 
Charleston to enforce the Federal law, and South 
Carolina had to obey. The trouble was ended by 
Henry Clay's Compromise Tariff of 1833, which pro- 
vided for a gradual reduction of the tariff. 

From 1846 to 1861, the tariff of United States was 
a tariff for revenue only. A revenut tariff does not 
aim to protect home manufactures, but lays a tariff" 
on imports, only to raise enough revenue to support, 
the government. 

In 1861 with the outbreak of the Civil War, a high 
war tariff was laid on imports, in order to raise more 
money for war expenses. 

This war tariff was reduced by the McKinley tariff 
of 1890. One of the features of this tariff was the 
"reciprocity measure." This permitted certain ar^ 
tides to be admitted into America free of duty if the 
country from which they came allowed certain Amer- 
ican articles to enter free. The present Dingley Tariff^ 
adopted in 1897, is a protective tariff. 

(d) In 1861, the government to relieve it financial 
situation, issued paper money or "greenbacks." As 
the war went on, this paper money sank in value until 
in 1864, a paper dollar was worth only thirty-five 
cents. After the war the public credit was soon re- 
stored, and on January 1, 1879, specie payments were 
resumed, and government paper money could be re- 
deemed at its face value in gold or silver. 



39 

(e) United States Bank. 

In 1791, the Bank of United States, in Philadelphia, 
"was chartered bv Congress for twenty years. The es- 
tabUshnient of the bank was proposed to Congress by 
Alexander Hamilton, to help improve the financial 
■condition of United States. It was a great aid to busi- 
ness, as its bills or notes were accepted all over the 
United States. 

The first charter expired in ISll. In 1816, the Bank 
"was re-established in Philadelphia by a new charter 
for twenty years. In IS 32. the Bank applied to Con- 
gress for an extension of time, and Congress passed the 
bill. Jackson, who was oppr»sed to the Bank, vetoed 
this bill, and as Congress was not able to pass it over 
the President 's veto, the charter expired in 1S36. 

To further injure the bank. Jacks^^n removed from 
it the government money, and put it in State banks. 
Here the money could easily be borrowed. Specula- 
tion in western lands now became very common. These 
■speculators bought land from the government and laid 
out imaginary towns, selling these town lots at high 
prices to people who had never seen the land. Many 
banks, called ' ' wild cat banks. ' ' were then started. All 
these banks issued paper money, and people paid for 
government land with notes on these banks. 

As many of these banks had no capital back of their 
notes. Jackson, in 1836. ordered that in future, nothing 
l)ut specie (gold or silver coin' was to be taken in pay- 
ment for land. The notes went back for redemption in 
specie, and where there was no money in the banks. 
they failed. This caused the panic of 1837. in Van 
Buren's administration. To raise money to pay their 
<iebts, men tried to seU houses, lands, stocks, etc., but 



40 

found few buyers. Prices went down, and businesi^ 
men failed all over the country. Factories stopped 
running and men w^ere idle everywhere. This panic- 
lasted a year. 

Sub=Treasury System. Van Buren's remedy for 
the financial troubles w^as to remove the government's^ 
money from the State banks and place it in the Treas- 
ury at Washington and in branches or sub-treasuries- 
in the nine chief cities of the United States. In this 
way, the government is protected against loss. 
Troubles with Foreign Countries. 

(a) Troubles with France and England. (See- 
Washington's and John Adams's Administration.) 

(b) The War of 1812. 

The causes of the Avar of 1812 were as follows :— 

1. Inciting Indians to fight against United States.- 

2. Ruining American commerce by the Orders im 
Council. 

3. Capturing American vessels. 

4. Impressing or seizing American seamen, under 
the "Right of Search" claim. 

The various British "Orders in Council" forbade 
trade with France or her allies, while Napolon's re- 
taliatory decrees forbade trade with England or her 
allies. Both France and England captured American 
vessels, but the grievances against England were^ 
greater. 

The "Right of Search," demanded by England^ 
gave her the right to board American vessels and ta^ 
seize sailors whom she declared to be English desert- 
ers. Over six thousand men were thus impressed. 

The results of the War of 1812 were : — 



41 

1. The naval victories of United States made ns re- 
spected and feared by all European nations. Our 
commerce dared no longer be molested on the high 
seas. 

2. Americans felt greater respect for their own 
country and began to realize the strength and power 
of the Union. 

3. American manufactures increased greatly during 
the war, to supply articles to take the place of those 
formerly imported from England. 

(c) The Mexican War, in Polk's Administration 
(1846-1848), had two chief causes. First, United 
States had admitted Texas to the Union, although its 
independence had never been acknowledged by Mexico, 
from whom it had revolted. 

Second, both United States and ^Mexico claimed the 
land lying between the Rio Grande and the Nueces 
River. When General Taylor occupied this disputed 
territory, war broke out. 

The results of the Mexican War were as follows :— 

By the treaty of peace, signed in 1848, at Guadalupe 
Hidalgo, near the capital, Mexico gave up all claims to 
Texas, and made the Rio Grande its southern bound- 
ary. Mexico also gave the United States the vast ter- 
ritory, called the Mexican Cession, which extended 
from the Rocky Mountains and the Rio Grande to the 
Pacific, and from Mexico to the Oregon country. In 
return. United States gave Mexico $15,000,000. 

(d) Trouble with England over the Oregon Bound- 
ary. (See page 27, Acquisition of Oregon.) 

(e) War with Spain. 

Cause. Cul3a had been in revolt against Spain for 
a number of years. In McKinley's first term. General 



42 

Weyler, the Spanish governor-general of Cuba, had 
waged the war with such cruelty that the indignation 
of United States was aroused. The battleship Maine, 
sent to protect Americans in Havana, was blown up by 
the explosion of a mine placed under it (February 15, 
1898). By this explosion, 264 of the crew were killed. 

This aroused the rage of the whole nation. Congress 
ordered Spain to remove her forces from Cuba, and 
declared the island independent. As Spain refused 
her assent to this, war resulted, beginning April 21, 
1898. 

The purpose of this war was simply to free Cuba 
from the unjust, cruel rule of Spain. 

The results of the war were as follows : — 

The treaty was signed at Paris, in December, 1898. 
By it, Spain acknowledged the independence of Cuba, 
and gave Porto Rico, Guam (one of the Ladrone Is- 
lands in the Pacific Ocean) , and the Philippine Islands 
to United States. For the Spanish claims in the Phil- 
ippines, United States gave Spain $20,000,000. 

The United States kept her promise as to Cuban in- 
dependence, and Cuba to-day is a free nation. 
Slavery. 

(a) Introduction. Slavery was introduced into 
Virginia in 1619, by a Dutch trading-vessel, which 
brought twenty negroes there. Slavery was soon found 
very valuable in the hot Southern climate for field 
labor on the great plantations. With the invention of 
the cotton=gin in 1793, cotton became the chief South- 
ern crop, and the demand for slaves greatly increased, 
and the practice became a feature of Southern life. 

(b) Compromises in the Constitution regarding 
Slavery. (See page 13.) 



43 

(c) Acts of Congress relating to Slavery. 

1. The Congress ruling under the Articles of Con- 
federation passed the Ordinance of 1787. This Act 
provided for the government of the territory north of 
the Ohio River and East of the Mississippi. This 
Ordinance forbade slavery forever in that territory. 

2. The next Act of Congress relating to slavery was 
the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The question of 
the admission of Missouri as a State led to a bitter 
fight. The slavery and the anti-slavery parties were 
evenly divided in the Senate, hence each side was un- 
willing to give the other an advantage. The Missouri 
Compromise, introduced by Thomas, of Illinois, and 
urged by Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House, pro- 
vided that Missouri should be admitted as a slave 
State, but that slavery should be prohibited in all the 
rest of the Louisiana Territory north of 36° 30', the 
soatnern boundary of Missouri. The bill was passed 
and Missouri entered as a slave State. 

3. The annexation of Texas by Congress in 1845, 
in Tyler's Administration, admitted another slave 
State to the Union, in spite of the opposition of the 
North. This led to the Mexican War. 

4. The Omnibus Bill. When California applied for 
admission to the Union as a free State, another conflict 
in Congress resulted. To allay the strife, Henry Clay, 
United States Senator from Kentucky, proposed in 
Congress his "Omnibus Bill" or Compromise of 1850. 
Its chief features were (1) the admission of California 
as a free State; (2) the formation of Utah and New 
Mexico into territories without any provision regard 
ing slavery; (3) the prohibition of all slave trade in 
the District of Columbia; (4) the passing of a Fugi- 



44 

tive Slave Law which would provide for the arrest and 
return to their owners of escaped slaves. 

This Fugitive Slave Law provided for United States 
officials who should hear claims to fugitive slaves, and 
should surrender such slaves to their owners without 
a jury trial. Persons who assisted a fugitive slave to 
escape could be fined and imprisoned. The effect of 
this law was to strengthen the anti-slavery party 
greatly, as the law was very unpopular in the North. 

5. The Kansas=Nebraska Act in Pierce's Adminis- 
tration was the fifth Act of Congress regarding slav-, 
ery. Stephen Douglas, the Democratic United States 
Senator from Illinois, introduced the Kansas-Nebraska 
Bill into Congress in 1854. This provided for the or- 
ganization of two territories, Kansas and Nebraska, al- 
lowing the people of each territory to decide for them- 
selves as to whether to permit slavery or not. As the 
early settlers were sometimes called squatters, this 
manner of leaving the question to be settled by them 
was called "squatter sovereingty. " This bill violated 
the Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery in 
that region, but it became a law. 

The result was to lead to a bitter conflict in Kansas. 
Both the slavery and anti-slavery parties sent settlers 
to Kansas, and fighting went on for three years, John 
Brown, the Abolitionist, taking part in the conflict. 

Finally, the anti-slavery party won, and Kansas was 
admitted as a free State in 1861. The Kansas-Nebraska 
Act further widened the breach between the North 
and the South. 

(d) Slavery was the leading cause of the Civil 
War. The South was an agricultural section and used 
slave labor in the fields. The North was mainly a 



45 

manufacturing section, and required no slave labor. 
This produced a conflict of interests and opinions. 

Slavery was introduced into Virginia in 1619. The 
quarrel over slavery was shown in the Constitution's 
compromises, in the Ordinance of 1787, in the Missouri 
Compromise of 1820, in the annexation of Texas in 
1845, in the Compromise of 1850, in the Kansas- 
Nebraska Act of 1854, in the Dred Scott Decision of 
1857, and in John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry in 
1859. 

Note.— The Dred Scott Decision was given in 1857 in the 
United IStates Supreme Court. Dred Scott was a slave whose mas- 
ter had moved from the slave State of Missouri to the free State 
of Illinois. Later, when they returned to Missouri, Dred Scott 
claimed his residence in the free State of Illinois had made him 
free. The case was taken into court. Finally, the United 
States Supreme Court, with Roger Taney as Chief Justice, de- 
clared that a slave was only a piece of property, and therefore, 
a slave owner could take his slaves where he pleased. This de- 
cision roused the North, for according to it, slave owners could 
have slaves in any part of the Union. 

This perpetual quarrel regarding slavery at length 
culminated in the Civil War. 

(e) During the Civil War, in 1862, shortly after 
the battle of Antietam, Lincoln issued his Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation as a war measure. It declared. that 
on January 1, 1863, all slaves in States at war with the 
Union should be forever free. 

(f) Slavery was finally abolished in United States 
by the Thirteenth Amendment. In February, 1865, 
Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment to the 
United States Constitution. This abolished slavery 
throughout the United States, becoming a part of the 
Constitution in December, 1865, when ratified by 
three-fourths of the States. 

The Civil War. 



46 

(a) The Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865. 

(b) Its causes were slavery, the tariff, and the doc- 
trine of State Rights. 

Discuss Slavery as the leading cause of the Civil 
War (page 44). 

The North and the South held opposing views on the 
Tariff. The North, as a manufacturing section, de- 
sired a high protective tariff to enable its products to 
compete with the cheaper importations from Europe. 
The South, as an agricultural section, opposed a high 
tariff. It had no manufactures to protect and desired 
only to buy its needs as cheap as possible. This con- 
flict of interests was shown especially in the nullifica- 
tion troubles of 1832. 

By the doctrine of State Rights we mean the opin- 
ion that the United States was only a voluntary league 
of States, and that any State might, if it wished, dis- 
obey any act of Congress or might secede from the 
Union when it desired. According to this doctrine, the 
State Government was independent of the Federal 
government. The Southern States all held this view, 
while the North rejected this idea entirely, believing 
in an indissoluble Union. 

The immediate causes of the outbreak of hostilities 
were the election of Lincoln, the secession of the South- 
ern States and the attack on Fort Sumter. 
Secession of States. 

As soon as it was known in 1860 that Lincoln was 
elected President, South Carolina seceded from the 
Union, and soon Georgia and the five Gulf States fol- 
lowed. In February, 1861, delegates from the seven 
States met at IMontgomery, Alabama, and organized 
their new government, calling it the Confederate 



47 

States of America, with Jefferson Davis as President. 

After war actually began, in 1861, Virginia, Arkan- 
sas, Tennessee, and North Carolina seceded, making 
eleven seceded states. 
Fort Sumter. 

Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor was threatened 
by General Beauregard and his forces. President 
Buchanan sent an unarmed steamer, the Star of the 
West, with supplies for Fort Sumter, but the Con- 
federates fired on it, and drove it back. Lincoln, a 
month after his inauguration, notified the governor of 
South Carolina that he intended to send provisions to 
Fort Sumter. Jefferson Davis then directed General 
Beauregard to demand Fort Sumter's surrender, and 
in case it refused, to fire on it. As Major Anderson re- 
fused to surrender the fort, it was bombarded for 
thirty-four hours, and Anderson was forced to sur- 
render, April 14, 1861. 
Raising of Men and Money for the War. 

(a) The day following the fall of Fort Sumter, Lin- 
coln issued a proclamation for 75,000 troops to serve 
three months, and four times that many volunteered. 

(b) The low Revenue Tariff was changed by Con- 
gress, and a high War Tariff was passed in 1861, to 
raise funds for government needs. By the end of the 
war, the tariff was almost three times as great as in 
Buchanan 's administration. 

(c) As the expenses of the government varied from 
one to three million dollars daily, heavy taxes were 
laid. Money was also raised by borrowing, bonds be- 
ing issued which paid a high rate of interest. The gov- 
ernment also issued paper money or ''green backs.'* 
These two methods were the ideas of Salmon P. Chase, 



48 

the Secretary of the Treasury. Gold was soon at a 
premium as the war continued, and "greenbacks" 
sank in value, so that in July, 1864, a dollar note was 
worth only thirty-five cents in gold. 

Note. —In the autumn of 1863, flour was $100 per barrel, and 
before the war closed it was $1500 per barrel. Confederate 
money. 

Principal Movements of the War. 

(a) The operations of the Confederates were mainly 
defensive, the chief exceptions being Lee's invasions 
of the North in 1862 and in 1863, and Early's raid in 
1864. This gave them an immense advantage, as they 
knew their territory and could use all their forces to 
defend it, without using any in overrunning the North. 

(b) The three chief objects of the Union forces 
were: (1) the blockade of the Southern ports; (2) the 
opening of the Mississippi River; (3) the capture of 
Richmond. 

The Blockade. 

In April, 1861, Lincoln declared the entire South- 
ern coast in a state of blockade. The purpose of the 
blockade was to prevent the importing of war supplies 
to the South, and to prevent the exporting of cotton 
and other products from the South, thus ruining its 
commerce and impoverishing it. 

The four great events connected with this blockade 
were as follows :— 
I. The Monitor and Merrimac Battle. 

The Merrimac was a former Northern vessel which 
the Confederates had covered with iron. In 1862, un- 
der Commodore Franklin Buchanan, this ironclad en- 
tered Hampton Roads, near the mouth of the James 
River, and destroyed the wooden war vessels, the Cum- 



49 

l)erland and the Congress. That same night, the Moni- 
tor, commanded by Lieutenant John L. Worden, en- 
i;ered Hampton Roads. It was iron-clad, with a low 
•deck and a central, iron-clad revolving turret with two 
^uns, having been built in New York by Captain John 
Ericsson. After a four hours' battle (Sunday, March 
9), the Merrimac had to withdraw, though not de- 
:stroyed. If the Monitor had not conquered the Merri- 
mac, it would have broken up the blockade by destroy- 
ing the Union vessels. Thus the Monitor saved the 
blockade and also the Northern ports. Another result 
■of this battle was to cause the wooden war vessels of 
i;he world to give place to the iron-clads of modern 
limes. 

3. Capture of New Orleans. 

New Orleans was the most important Southern port. 
It was defended by Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson, 
with iron chains stretched across the river below the 
forts and a fleet of war vessels above them. In April 
1862, a land and naval expedition was sent against it, 
•Commodore David G. Farragut commanding the 
Union fleet, while General Benjamin Butler com- 
manded the land forces. After bombarding the forts 
in vain for six days, Farragut succeeded in passing 
them in the night. Next he attacked the Confederate 
war vessels above the forts, and after capturing or 
destroying them, he forced New Orleans to surrender. 

3. Numerous places on the coast were captured dur- 
ing 1862, and by the end of this year, the only coast 
•cities held by the Confederates were Savannah, 
•Charleston, Wilmington and Mobile. This made the 
3)lockade very successful. 



50 

4. The Battle of Mobile Bay. 

In 1864, Admiral Farragut led his fleet past the ter-^ 
rible fire of forts defending Mobile in southwestern^ 
Alabama. He compelled the surrender of the gun- 
boats and the iron-plated ram Tennessee, commanded 
by Commodore Buchanan. This victory closed the 
port of Mobile to blockade runners. 

The Opening of the Mississippi River. 

1. The object of Grant's compaign in 1862 was to- 
open up the Mississippi River, and to separate the 
States west of it from the Confederacy. In northwest- 
ern Tennessee w^ere two forts, Fort Henry on the Ten- 
nessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland 
River. Commodore Foote with his iron-clad gunboats 
captured Fort Henry in February. Grant, aided by 
Foote 's gunboats, attacked Fort Donelson a week later^ 
and after three days' bombardment. General Buckner 
had to surrender the fort and its garrison of 15,000. 

Grant some weeks later fought a great battle at 
Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing, southwestern Tennessee^ 
defeating the Confederates under General Albert- 
Johnston. 

2. Island No. 10, in Mississippi River, northwest of 
Tennessee, attacked by gunboats and later by land 
forces, surrendered to Foote. The gunboats then pro- 
ceeded down the Mississippi and defeated the fleet at 
Memphis, which was then occupied by Union forces^, 
giving the control of the river as far south as Mem- 
phis. 

3. A little earlier that same year (April, 1862) ^ 
New Orleans was captured by Admiral Farragut 
(Describe Battle of New Orleans, page 49). 



51 

4. Grant's great work in 1863 was to capture Vicks- 
burg, in western Mississippi on the Mississippi River. 
Assisted by General Sherman, he defeated General 
Pemberton and General Joseph E. Johnston separately 
in several battles, and succeeded in shutting Pember- 
ton up in Vicksburg. 

The siege lasted six weeks. Finally, on July 4, 1863, 
Vicksburg surrendered, being unable to endure any 
longer the famine and the terrible Union bombard- 
ment. 

5. When Port Hudson surrendered shortly after to 
General Banks, the whole Mississippi was opened, and 
entirely under the control of the North. 
Attempts to Capture Richmond. 

1. The Union forces under General McDowell began 
their march toward Richmond, but they reached only 
Manassas Junction in northern Virginia, in July, 1861, 
when they met the Confederates under General 
Beauregard. The Confederates, reinforced by Gen- 
eral Joseph Johnston, utterly defeated the Union 
troops. General Thomas Jackson won his title of 
^'Stonewall Jackson" in this battle. This battle is 
generally called the battle of Bull Run, from the small 
■stream near by. 

2. The object of McCIellan's campaign in 1862 was 
to capture Richmond. This campaign is sometimes 
■called the Peninsular Campaign, because it was fought 
in the peninsula between the York and the James 
Rivers in southern Virginia. After capturing York- 
town and Norfolk, the Union army advanced to within 
■seven miles of Richmond, producing a panic there. In- 
■stead of attacking the city at once, he waited for rein- 
forcements under McDowell. General Jackson, in or- 



52 

der to prevent this reinforcement, raided the Shenan- 
doah Valley in northern Virginia. This produced a. 
pai]ic at Washington, and McDowell was ordered to-- 
the Shenandoah Valley. Jackson retreated in safety^ 
haying accomplished his object. 

General Robert E. Lee had meanwhile become the 
Confederate commander-in-chief. Jackson now joined 
Lee in attacking McClellan, beginning the Seven Days'" 
Battles. After the battle of Mechanicsville, McClellait- 
retreated toward the James River with Lee in pursuit^ 
fighting all the way. On July 1, 1862, the battle of 
Malvern Hill w^as fought in which Lee was defeated. 
This ended the Seven Days' Battles. The whole cam- 
paign was a Union failure, as Richmond was not taken. 

3. The second Battle of Bull Run was fought m 
1862, shortly after McClellan 's unsuccessful campaign. 
McClellan had been ordered to unite his forces witlt 
those of General Pope, but before he arrived, Lee and" 
Jackson attacked and utterly routed Pope at Bull Run. 

4. Grant's Campaign against Richmond. 

Early in 1864, Grant was made commander-in-chief 
of the entire Union forces. He then began a campaiga 
in Virginia with the object of capturing Richmond. 
Grant's army was almost twice the size of Lee's, but 
Lee had the advantage of position. The first great. 
battle was the battle of the Wilderness in northeastern 
Virginia, the region being so called because of its dense 
forests. The battle lasted two days, with great loss to- 
Lee and Grant, and the result was indecisive. 

A few weeks later, the two armies fought at Cold 
Harbor, nine miles from Richmond. Here Grant was. 
badly defeated by Lee. 



53 

Grant now moved to the James River and tried to 
capture Petersburg, a city twenty-three miles south of 
Richmond. Lee prevented its capture and Grant be- 
gan the siege of the place, June, 1864. The greatest 
event of the siege during 1864 was the explosion on 
July 30 of the mine dug by Union soldiers under one 
of the enemy's forts. The Union forces rushed into 
this gap or chasm of nearly two hundred feet to take 
the city, but were driven back with great slaughter. 
Grant continued the siege steadily. On April 1, 
1865, Sheridan, after a severe battle, drove Lee from 
Five Forks, twelve miles from Petersburg. Lee saw 
he could not hold Richmond much longer. On April 2, 
Grant made an attack along the whole line in front of 
Petersburg, and carried the works. That night the 
Confederate government and army evacuated Peters- 
burg and Richmond, and on April 3, the Union troops 
entered them, after their long, siege. 

Note. — Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 18(35, at Appo- 
mattox Court House, in southern Virginii. 

Lee*s Two Invasions. 

1. When McCIellan withdrew from Richmond, Lee 
went northward, and defeated Pope at the battle of 
Bull Run, in northern Virginia. He then advanced 
into Maryland, hoping to win that State for the Con- 
federates. McCIellan was given the Union command 
again, and attacked Lee and Jackson at Antietam 
Creek, a branch of the Potomac in southern Maryland, 
September, 1862, near Sharpsburg. The result was a 
Union success, but not a decided one. Lee, however, 
had to withdraw across the Potomac into Virginia. 

2. In 1863, Lee invaded the North the second time. 
Leaving Virginia, he marched through Maryland into 



54 

Pennsylvania. General George C. Meade commanded 
the Union forces there. At Gettysburg in southern 
Pennsylvania, July 1, 1863, the Union forces met the 
Confederates, and began a terrible three days' battle. 
General Reynolds (Union) was killed in the first day's 
fight, and the defeated Union forces occupied Cemetery- 
Ridge, where Meade with the greater part of his army 
joined them during the night. 

The Confederates were stationed on Seminary Ridge, 
July 2, Lee sent General Longstreet to capture the hill^ 
Little Round Top, but he was repulsed. 

On the third day, July 3, Lee sent General Pickett 
about noon with 15,000 men to attack General Han- 
cock on Cemetery Ridge. After fearful slaughter, the 
Confederates were defeated and the battle was over, 
Lee was forced to retreat into Virginia, ending the in- 
vasion. 
Sherman's March to the Sea. 

In 1864, while Grant was fighting Lee, in Virginia,. 
General William T. Sherman was fighting General 
Johnston in Georgia. 

The object of Sherman's campaign was to capture 
Atlanta, destroy the Confederate army in Georgia, and 
lay the region waste. After five battles in northwest- 
ern Georgia, Johnston had to retire to Atlanta. The 
Confederate government then put Hood in the place 
of Johnston. After defeating Hood three times, Sher- 
man seized Atlanta, September, 1864. This was an im- 
portant capture, as nearly all the war supplies of the 
South were made in Atlanta's mills and foundries^ 
which Sherman destroyed. 

Thinking to draw Sherman out of Georgia, Hood in- 
vaded Tennessee, but Sherman refused to leave. la 



55 

November, Sherman began his march toward the sea. 
In November, Sherman began his march across Geor- 
gia, destroying railroads and supplies and laying waste 
the whole country for a month. In December, 1864, 
he captured Savannah. In 1865, he marched north- 
ward into South Carolina, and in February, seized and 
burned Columbia, its capital. 

Charleston was then evacuated by the Confederates 
and seized by the Union forces. Sherman continued 
Ms march into North Carolina, and defeated Johnston 
at Bentonville in eastern North Carolina. About a 
month later, on learning of Lee's surrender, Johnston 
likewise surrendered. 

The effect of Sherman's campaign was to destroy the 
resources of the South, and to conquer the Southern 
forces there. 
The Results of the War. 

The two great results of the Civil War were the 
abolition of slavery and the establishment of the su- 
premacy of the National Government. The doctrine of 
State Rights could no longer be held, and the Constitu- 
tion became the supreme law of the land. 
Reconstruction. 

By reconstruction, we mean readmitting the seceded 
States to the Union, and reorganizing their govern- 
ment. While Congress was not in session, President 
Johnson issued a Proclamation of pardon to the peo- 
ple of the seceded States, if they agreed to obey the 
Constitution. When conventions in the various 
receded States ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, 
and repealed the secession ordinances, Johnson de- 
clared that these States Avere once more members of the 
Union. Congress on assembling declared that such 



56 

action was not sufficient to readmit these States, the 
Fourteenth Amendment was passed, by which the 
negroes were made citizens of the United States. This 
Amendment also declared that all who had broken 
their oath of allegiance to the United States by engag- 
ing in war against it, were ineligible to hold any state 
or national office. 

Tennessee had been admitted in 1866, after ratify- 
ing the Fourteenth Amendment. Congress, in 1867, 
organized military governments for the remaining ten 
States, which were to continue in these States until 
they ratified the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1868,. 
six States complied and were readmitted. In 1870, 
in Grant's administration, the remaining four seceded 
States, Virginia, Georgia, Mississippi and Texas, rati- 
fied the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amend- 
ments, and were readmitted to the Union. 
Alabama Claims. 

The Confederate cruiser, Alabama, was built in 
Liverpool, England, and its crew was mainly English- 
men. It Avas commanded by Captain Semmes, and did 
great damage to Union vessels, destroying between 
1862 and 1864 over sixty vessels with their cargoes. In 
1864, the Kearsarge, commanded by Captain Winslow 
of the Union navy, destroyed the Alabama in a great 
naval battle near Cherbourg, off the coast of north- 
western France. The depredations of the Alabama led 
to the Alabama claims. After the Civil War ended. 
United States demanded payment from England for 
the damages done to American commerce by the Ala- 
bama, as our government considered England was re- 
sponsible, by having permitted the vessel to be built in 
and to be sent out from an English port. Commis- 



57 

sioners from both countries met at Washington, and in 
1871, they signed the Treaty of Washington, by which 
it was agreed to refer the "Alabama Claims" to a 
board of arbitrators. This was to consist of five mem- 
bers, one being appointed by United States, one by 
England, one by Italy, one by Switzerland, and one by 
Brazil. The commission met in Geneva, Switzerland, 
in 1872, and their decision was that England should 
pay the United States $15,500,000. 
Philadelphia. 

(a) Settlement: — William Penn had inherited 
from his father, Admiral Penn, a money claim on the 
English government which King Charles II. was glad 
to pay by granting, in 1681, a tract of land, called af- 
ter the proprietor, Pennsylvania. 

Penn came over the next year on the ship Welcome, 
and landed at New Castle. He soon went up the Dela- 
ware to Shackamaxon, where he made the famous 
treaty with the Indians under the elm-tree. 

The site chosen for the city of Philadelphia was be- 
tween the Delaware and the Schuylkill rivers. The 
nine streets that ran east and west were named for 
forest trees, such as Spruce, Pine, Chestnut, Sassafras 
(now Race Street), etc. The twenty-three running 
north and south in the tract between the Delaware and 
the Schuylkill were named numerically. High Street, 
now Market, was the chief street. The first winter, 
1682-1683, saw few houses, and the people lived mainly 
in caves along the river front. From the first, how- 
ever, the city grew rapidly, and before long became the 
great city of the colonies. 

Note:— The old Treaty Elm was blown down in 1810, and a 
monument and park now mark the spot where it stood. 



58 

(b) Early History. Though the Quakers were the 
first settlers of Philadelphia, other religions and na- 
tionalities soon followed, attracted by the civil and 
religious freedom enjoyed there. Francis Daniel Pas- 
torius with a company of Germans arrived in 1683. 
Pastorius was a distinguished scholar, knowing seven 
or eight languages. He and his followers settled Ger= 
mantown, a suburb of Philadelphia. The people were 
linen weavers chiefly, though other trades were also fol- 
lowed. Thus, the first paper mill in America was es- 
tablished in 1690, near the Wissahickon, by William 
Rittinghuysen, a minister from Holland. Christoph 
Saur, of Germantown, printed the first German Bible 
in America in 1743, and he also published the first 
German newspaper. 

These Germantown settlers were a very religious 
people, and were the first to suggest abolishing slav- 
ery, sending such a petition in 1688 to the Friends' 
Yearly Meeting. 

Much attention was paid to education in Philadel- 
phia, a school being opened the first year after its 
founding. Christopher Dock was the most famous of 
the early schoolmasters, teaching in Germantown for 
many years. He died in 1771, after a long and noble 
life, being found dead in the schoolhouse one night, in 
the attitude of prayer. 

Higher education was also provided for, and from 
the Academy proposed by Franklin, grew the Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania. 

Three famous buildings still standing in Philadel- 
phia must be mentioned, since they are so closely con- 
nected with our history. Christ Church, on Second 
Street near Market, took the place of an earlier church, 



59 

and dates from 1727. The famous chime of bells cost 
£560. The steeple once held a crown, but in 1787, a 
bishop 's miter with thirteen stars was put there. Wash- 
ington worshipped here, as did Benjamin Franklin, 
Robert Morris, John Adams, Lafayette, and many 
other great men of the Revolution. A rector of Christ 
Church, Rev. Jacob Duche, opened the session of the 
First Continental Congress with prayer. 

In Christ Church cemetery, at Fifth and Arch, lie 
buried the remains of Philadelphia's greatest citizen, 
Benjamin Franklin. 

Carpenters' Hall is located in the rear of the south 
side of Chestnut Street, near Third Street. This build- 
ing is famous as the meeting place of the First Conti- 
nental Congress in 1774, in which sat Washington, 
Henry, Samuel Adams, John Adams, and other patri- 
ots. The first Bank of the United States was here from 
1791 to 1797. Here also was the Second Bank of the 
United States, from 1817 for nearly five years. 

Independence Hall, on the south side of Chestnut 
Street, between Fifth and Sixth, is Philadelphia's most 
famous building. Originally it was called the State- 
house, and in it hiuig the famous Liberty Bell with its 
well-known Biblical inscription, "Proclaim liberty 
throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants there- 
of." 

In the Statehouse, the Second Continental Congress 
met, and passed Jefferson's immortal Declaration of 
Independence in 1776, and from then on, it became In- 
dependence Hall. Here the Constitution was framed 
by the Convention of 1787, establishing the new and 
glorious Union. Here Congress sat from 1790 to 1800, 
when Philadelphia was the national capital. The 



60 

Liberty Bell, which had announced by its notes the re- 
peal of the Stamp Act in 1766, the adoption of the 
Declaration in 1776, the surrender of Cornwallis in 
1781, and the estabishment of the new government, 
tolled its last at the funeral of Chief Justice ^Marshall 
in 1835. To-day the whole Union venerates the silent 
but eloquent Liberty Bell. 

Philadelphia's two greatest citizens were Benjamin 
Franklin and Stephen Girard. 

Franklin, the poor Boston youth who landed here 
without money or friends when only seventeen, and 
who rose to become a leader, known the world over, is a 
name familiar to us all. (Give biography; see page 
18.) 

Stephen Girard, a French emigrant, reached Phila- 
delphia as a young man in 1776, becoming there a 
grocer and wine bottler. He prospered by his skill and 
industry, establishing a fleet of merchant vessels 
known in every port, and becoming a millionaire. 

He showed rare heroism during the yellow fever 
epidemic in Philadelphia in 1793, nursing the sick in 
person, and aiding in every way possible. 

On the expiration of the charter of the United States 

bank, Girard took it, forming "The Bank of Stephen 

Girard," in 1812. He rescued the nation from ruin in 

1814 by loaning about five million dollars to the almost 

bankrupt government, when no one else would take 

such a risk. He died in 1831, leaving the bulk of his 

immense fortune for a college for orphan boys, thus 

establishing one of Philadelphia's noblest charities. 

Note:— Philadelphia to-day is the third city in the Union 
as regards population, having in it 1,290,000 people, according to 
the census of 1900. Its area is 129 14 square miles. It is a 
great manufacturing city, noted for its locomotives, its carpets 



61 

and its machinery. In foreign commerce it ranks fourth of the 
United States cities. Its park, called Fairmount Park, covers 
over 3300 acres. The Zoological Garden, there, is the finest in 
America. 

The new City Hall, with over 750 rooms, is one of the most 
costly public buildings in the world. When completed, the cost 
will probably be $25,000,000. The tower of City Hall to the top 
of Penn 's Statue is 547 feet high. 

Government of Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia has three departments in its govern- 
ment, legislative, executive, judicial. 

The legislative or law-making department consists of 
the two branches of City Councils, Select and Common. 
Councilmen serve without pay, being elected by the 
people. There are (1904) forty-two members of 
Select Council, one from each ward, and one hundred 
and sixty-two members of Common Council. The head 
of the executive department is the Mayor, elected by 
the people for a term of four years. Under him are 
his four Directors— (1) the Director of Public Safety, 
havirg charge of the Fire and Police Bureaus, etc. 
(2) the Director of Supplies, having charge of buying 
materials for city use. (3) the Director of Public 
Works, having charge of the Bureaus of Water, Sur- 
veys, Street Cleaning, etc., and (4) the Director of 
Public Health and Charities, having charge of the 
Bureau of Health, almshouses, municipal hospitals, 
etc. These Directors are appointed by the Mayor. 

The judicial department is composed of the various 
city judges and magistrates whose duty it is to inter- 
pret the law, and to conduct trials for violation of the 
law. These are elected by the people. 

To attend to educational matters, each of the forty- 
two Avards has its Sectional Board, elected by the peo- 
ple, and its Controller, appointed by the judges, the 



62 

forty-two controllers of the city making the Board of 

Education. 

Note. — The elections for all National and State officers are held 
on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November ; for 
city officials the election is held on the third Tuesday in Febru- 
ary. Voters must be male citizens of Pennsylvania and of the 
United States, who are twenty-one years old or over. 

Notes on the Constitution. 

Government is the organized means employed by a 
state or nation to preserve its own existence and to pro- 
tect the rights of its people. 

The necessity of government is easily seen. As 
men do not live alone, but in communities, some means 
are necessary to restrain the evil and to protect the 
good. If there were no government, everyone would 
do as he pleased, and no one would be secure in his 
rights and possessions. If persons could not be secured 
in the possession of their own property, all reward for 
industry and for honest work would end. Hence a 
government is absolutely necessary to secure peace, or- 
der, and prosperity. 

The constitution of a nation is its fundamental 
laws. It describes the branches of the government and 
their powers, and serves as a basis for all future laws. 

A law is a rule of conduct established by authority. 
There are four chief forms or kinds of government: 
Monarchical, Aristocratic, Democratic, Republican. 

A monarchical form of government is one in which 
the chief power is vested in a ruler or monarch who 
usually inherits his office. The monarch may be called 
a king, a queen, an emperor, a czar, a mikado, etc. 

An absolute monarchy is one in which the ruler has 
supreme power, making, executing, and interpreting 
the laws at will. Russia's czar, and Turkey's sultan 



63 

are absolute moiiarclis. The people of an absolute 
monarch are usually ignorant and uneducated. 

A limited or constitutional monarchy is one in 
which the power of the monarch is limited by a con- 
stitution or body of laws. Germany's emperor, Ja- 
pan's mikado, and England's king are rulers of lim- 
ited monarchies. In a limited monarchy, the people 
are usually educated, enjoying freedom of speech, and 
freedom of religion. 

An aristocracy is a form of government where the 
power is in the hands of a few men. Venice at one 
time was an aristocratic form of government. There 
is now no pure aristocratic form of government, but 
the aristocratic element exists in the upper classes or 
nobles in monarchies. 

A democratic form of government is where the 
power is in the hands of the entire people. The 
''Town System of New England" was a pure dem- 
ocracy, all the people aiding in making the town laws. 
Such a form of government would only be possible 
with a small population, since a large population 
could not assemble together. 

A republican form of government or a republic 
is a representative government. The people elect their 
officers or representatives, and these make and execute 
the laws for them. 

The United States is a democratic republic. The 
people dect their officials, giving the democratic ele- 
ment. nBHapn officials represent the people, so the peo- 
ple act nof directly, but through representatives, giv- 
ing the republican or representative element. 

The United States is also a combination of State 
and Federal governments,— each being a democratic 



64 

republic. The Federal government, through its legis- 
lative, executive, and judicial departments, attends 
to the affairs of the nation, such as war, finance, 
treaties, etc. Each State government, through its 
legislative, executive and judicial departments, at- 
tends to the aft'airs of that particular State. 

The Preamble to the Constitution shows that our 
government is a government where the p^wer is vested 
in the people themselves, since it says "we, the people 
of the United States," establish this government. 

The six purposes for which the government was es- 
tablished are also stated in the preamble. Those ob- 
jects or purposes were "to form a more perfect union, 
to establish justice, to insure domestic tranquillity, to 
provide for the common defence, to promote the gen- 
eral welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty." 

Definition of Terms and Phrases Used in the 
Constitution. From the Preamble: — "Insure dom- 
estic tranquillity," secure peace at home. "Welfare," 
prosperity. "Posterity," descendants, future genera- 
tions. 

Article I. (The Legislative Department.) 

Section I.— "Vested," placed or put. 

Section II.— "Electors," voters. "Requisite," nec- 
essary. "Most numerous," largest. "Attained to," 
reached. "Citizen," a man, woman or child who en- 
joys the rights of a free person. "Apportioned," as- 
signed among, divided. ' ' Enumeration, ' ' counting 
the inhabitants. "Subsequent," coming after, fol- 
lowing. 

Mote:— After the Twelfth Census, in 1900, the number of 
members of the national House of Kepresentatives was made 
386, or 1 for every 193,291 persons. This is fixed by Congress. 



65 

By dividing 193,291 into the population of a State, we get the 
number of Representatives that State can send to Congress. 

''Executive authority thereof," the governor of the 
State. ''Writ of election," a paper, issued by a gov- 
ernor of a State, authorizing an election to be held on 
a particular day. "Speaker," the presiding officer 
of the House of Representatives, who directs its ac- 
tions, appoints committees, and regulates debate. He 
is a Representative, of course. 

Note: — ** Other officers" of the House are not members of 
the House. Among others, they include the chaplain, who opens 
each session with prayer, the clerks who keep the journal, etc., 
and the sergeant- at-arms, who preserves order at the command 
of the speaker. He does this by showing the mace, the symbol 
of authority. (This mace is a bundle of ebony rods, each with a 
spear head, a metal eagle projecting from the bundle. ) 

"Sole," only. "Impeachment," formal accusation 
against an official, charging him with some crime or 
■offence. 

Section III.— "In consequence of," as the result 
of. "Expiration," end, termination. "Resignation," 
giving up an office before the end of the term of such 
office. ' ' Recess of the Legislature, ' ' the time when the 
two legislative bodies of a State are not in session. 
*' Temporary," not permanent, lasting only for a 
■short time. "Tie," an equality of votes. "Pro tem- 
pore," for the time. "Oath," a solemn declaration 
with an appeal to God for the truth of it. "Affirma- 
tion," the solemn declaration that the truth will be 
told, made by those who refuse to take an oath. ' ' Con- 
victed," found guilty. "Acquitted," set free, de- 
-clared not guilty. "Concurrence," agreement. 

(Note: — President Johnson was the only President ever im- 
peached. He was acquitted.) 

' ' Indictment, ' ' a document drawn up by the district 

attorne}^, charging a person with a crime. 



66 

Section IV.— ''Prescribed," fixed, laid down by 

rule. ''Regulations," rules. ''Assemble," meet. 

Note. — Every Congress lasts two years, its second or short 
session going from December to the fourth of March. The 
Fifty-eighth Congress began in 1903. 

Section V.— "Constitute," form, make. "Quo- 
rum," a number sufficient to do business. "Majority,'*" 
a number greater than the half. (Note:— With 90 
Senators, 46 would be a quorum.) "Proceedings,"" 
actions. "Journal," a book giving an account of the 
proceedings of a legislative body. "Publish," make 
public. "Voting by yeas and nays" is a method of 
voting, in w^hich the name of each member is called, 
and the person votes "yea" or "yes" if in favor of 
the measure, or votes "nay" or "no," if opposed. 
"Adjourn," to end a session for a time. 

Section VI.— "Compensation," pay. "Treason,"" 
the crime of attempting to overthrow the government 
of one's country. "Felony," a crime punishable by 
death or imprisonment. "Breach of the peace," dis- 
turbing the public peace by riot or by disorderly con- 
duct. "Emolument," salary, pay. 

Section VII.— "Bill," a proposed law. "Revenue,"" 
the money which a government obtains by taxation. 
"Originate," start, make a beginning. "Amend- 
ment," an alteration or change in a bill or law. 
"Veto," to refuse to sign a bill when passed by the 
legislative department. "Objections," reasons against,. 
reasons for opposing. "Reconsider," consider again^ 
take up again for debate. ' ' Excepted, ' ' excluded, not 
counted. "Resolution," a formal statement of the 
will or opinion of a legislative body, as passed by a 
vote. "Disapproved," not approved, not sanctioned* 



67 

Section VIII.— "Duties," or "imposts/' in United 
States mean a tax on goods imported. "Excises," 
taxes on goods made and used within the country. 
<Note:— The chief excise taxes in United States are 
on tobacco and on alcoholic liquors. ) ' ' Tax, ' ' a sum of 
money levied on the property or the people of a coun- 
try by the government. "Uniform," not varying or 
<}hanging. "Naturalization," the process by which 
s,n alien becomes a citizen of United States. "Alien," 
a foreigner living in a country, biit not being a citizen 
of it. "Citizen"— "All persons born in the United 
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are 
■citizens of the United States." "Bankrupt," a per- 
son formally declared by law as unable to pay his 
•debts. 

(Note:— The Metric System of weights and measures is used 
\)j almost all nations except United States and England. Its 
meter, for long measure, is 39.37 inches. Its liter, for measur- 
ing fluids, is 2.113 pints. The kilogram, for weight, is about 
2.2 pounds avoirdupois.) 

"Counterfeiting," the unlawful making of money, 
either coin or paper. "Securities," government 
bonds. "Current coin," coin in use or circulation. 
^'Patent, "a document giving an inventor the exclusive 
right to an invention. A patent extends for 17 years. 
'^ * Copyright, " a document giving authors or their as- 
signees the sole privilege of publishing their works. 
""Militia," the citizens enrolled for military instruc- 
tion who are engaged as soldiers only in time of actual 
war. ' ' Suppress, ' ' to put down, to subdue. ' ' Insurrec- 
tion, ' ' revolt. ' ' Repel, ' ' drive back, repulse. ' ' Seat of 
government," the capital. "Exercise exclusive legis- 
lation, ' ' have full power over. ' ' Magazine, ' ' a place for 



68 

storing- military supplies. "Arsenal," a place where 
mi'itary equipments are made and stored. 

"Habeas Corpus," an order from a judge, coni- 
manding the person imprisoned to be brought before 
the judge to inquire as to the justice of the imprison- 
ment. It protects from unjust imprisonment. 

NoTE:-+An exclusive power of the Senate is a power pos- 
sessed only by the Senate. A concurrent power of the Senate is 
the power it possesses in connection with the House of Repre- 
sentatives to make general laws. 

Article II. (The Executive Department.) 

"Presidential Elector," a person elected to vote for 
the President. "Ballot," a ticket used in voting, the 
act of voting. "Transmit," send. "Not exceeding 
three," not more than three. "Representation from 
each State," the entire number of Representatives 
from that State. "Shall devolve upon," shall be 
handed over to. "Constitutionally ineligible," not 
qualified according to the Constitution. " Eligible, "^ 
possessing the necessary qualification. 

(Note:— Jefferson in 1800 and John Qiiincy Adams in 1824 
were elected Presidents by the House of Representatives.) 

"Electoral College," all the Presidential electors 
together. "Natural-born citizen," a person born a 
citizen, not a naturalized citizen. "Inability to dis- 
charge the powers and duties," not able to do the 
work. "Diminished," made less. 

(Note:— Tyler, Fillmore, Johnson, Arthur and Roosevelt are 
the Vice-Presidents who succeeded to the Presidency.) 

Section II.— "Executive departments," the State 
Department, the Treasury Department, the War De- 
partment, the Navy Department, the Post-Office De- 
partment, etc. 



69 

The heads of these departments form the Presi- 
dent's Cabinet. The Cabinet meets in the White 
House. 

(1) The Secretary of State is the head of our am- 
bassadors and consuls, and is the only officer who com- 
municates with foreign governments in the name of 
the President. He has much to do with making 
treaties. 

(2) The Secretary of the Treasury takes charge 
of the money matters of the government. His depart- 
ment receives the money from Federal taxes, and pays 
out sums as appropriated by Congress. Its officers 
collect the duties on imports and also the internal re- 
venue from taxes on spirits and tobacco. It has charge 
of the Mints. 

(3) The War Department has charge of the army 
and of United States Military Academy at West Point. 

(4) The Attorney=Generai gives the President 
any legal advice needed, and also represents the Uni- 
ted States in any law-suits in which it is a party. 

(5) The Postmaster=General is head of the de- 
partment having charge of the mails. 

(6) The Secretary of the Navy has charge of all 
war vessels with their officers and men. His depart- 
ment has charge of the United States Naval Academy 
at Annapolis, of dock-yards, etc. 

(7) The Department of the Interior controls In- 
dian affairs, pensions, patents, copyrights, the census, 
etc. 

(8) The Secretary of Agriculture promotes agri- 
cultural interests. The Weather Bureau is in his de- 
partment. 



70 

(9) The Secretary of Commerce and Labor pro- 
motes the interests of labor and trade. Coast Surveys 
are in charge of his department. 

''Reprieve,*' a temporary suspension of a sentence, 
especially that of death. ''Treaty/' an agreement be- 
tween two or more nations. '* Nominate/* name or 
select for an office. "Ambassador/* a minister of the 
highest rank sent to represent his country at a foreign 
court. "Minister/* one of lower rank than an ambas- 
sador, representing his government at a foreign cap- 
ital. ' ' Consul, ' ' a person sent to a foreign city to look 
after the commercial affairs of his government. "In- 
ferior,** lower in rank. "Commission,** a document 
stating that the person receiving it has been appointed 
to the public position therein named. "Expire,** end. 

Section III.— "State,** condition. "Recommend to 
their consideration such measures as he shall judge 
necessary and expedient,** call their attention to the 
laws needing to be passed by them. "Convene,** call 
together. "Shall commission,** shall issue a commis- 
sion to. 

Note:— A civil power is a power not a military power. 
Article III. (Judicial Department.) 

Note:— The Supreme Court, which is established 
by the Constitution, has nine judges. It hears appeals 
from lower courts, and its decision is final. 

The United States is divided into nine parts called 
circuits. Each circuit has a Federal court called a 
Circuit Court. These deal with civil cases arisinsr un- 
der the laws of United States. 

The United States is also divided into sixty-five 
parts, each of which has a Federal court called a 



71 

District Court. This deals with crimes against Fed- 
eral laws, as counterfeiting, robbing the mails, etc. 
Article IV. (Relations between State and Nation.) 

Section III.— '' Jurisdiction," authority to govern; 
also, the limits within which a government or court 
has authority. "Within the jurisdiction of any other 
State," within the region governed by that State. 
"Junction," joining. "Concerned," affected, con- 
nected with the affair. "State," a division of the 
Union, governed by its inhabitants. "Territory," a 
part of the Union under the control of the Federal 
Government. Its governor, judges, and the other offi- 
cers are appointed by the President with the consent 
of the Senate. Its Legislature is elected by the people 
of the Territory. Each Territory may send a delegate 
to the House of Representatives who looks after its 
interests, but cannot vote. 

(Note:— To become a State, a Territory, after receiving per- 
mission by an Act of Congress, adopts a State Constitution. If 
this is approved by Congress, a bill is passed by Congress, and 
signed by the President, admitting the Territory as a State.) 

Section IV.— "Guarantee," secure. "Republican," 
representative. "Domestic violence," riots within 
the State. 

Article V. (Amending theConstitution.) 

"Deem," regard, think. "Propose," offer, bring 
forward. "Convention," an assembly of delegates. 
* ' Valid, ' ' legal. ' ' To all intents and purposes, ' ' fully, 
entirely. "Ratified," approved, sanctioned, agreed 
to. "Prior to," before. "Shall be deprived of," 
shall have taken away, shall lose. "Suffrage," vote. 



72 

Article VI. (Federal Supremacy.) 

*'In pursuance thereof/' according to it. *' Su- 
preme," highest in authority. "To the contrary/' 
different from, opposite. 

Amendment I. (Civil and Religious Liberty.) 

*' Respecting, " regarding, concerning. "Prohibit- 
ing," forbidding, preventing. "Abridging," cutting 
off, diminishing. "Freedom of speech," the right to 
say what one pleases, subject only to the abuse of that 
liberty. ^' Freedom of the press, ' ' the right of a news- 
paper to print anything it chooses, subject only to the 
abuse of that liberty. In Russia, the newspapers can 
say only what the Government wishes them to say. 
' ' Redress, ' ' remedy, correction. ' ' Grievances, ' ' wrongs 
done by injustice, tyranny, etc. 

Note. — Another personal right guaranteed by the Constitu- 
tion is that of trial by jury, 

A grand jury generally consists of twenty- three men, and 
a majority of these must agree before an indictment is made 
against a person suspected of crime. This indictment is a 
written accusation, charging a person with the commission of 
a crime, indorsed by the foreman of the grand jury with the 
words " A true bill.". 

The trial of the person is by a petit jury, consisting of 
twelve impartial men. It takes place in court, a judge presid- 
ing. The accused has the right to counsel to defend him, such 
being furnished by the government if necessary. The verdict 
of the jury must be unanimous. 

Crimes committed in the army or navy are tried by court- 
nvartial. This is a court composed of army or navy officers. 

Amendment XIII. (Abolition of Slavery.) 

"Involuntary," compulsory, not voluntary. "Servi- 
tude," slavery. "Subject to their jurisdiction," un- 
der their authority. 

Amendment XIV. (Citizenship.) 

"Immunities," special privileges or rights. 

Amendment XV. (Voting.) 
"Previous," former. 



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